Open mike 02/05/2019
Written By:
- Date published:
7:00 am, May 2nd, 2019 - 130 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags:
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
130 comments on “Open mike 02/05/2019 ”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
Recent Comments
- Todd Muller gets crushed
What a complete catastrophe for the National Party. Not only did the public learn on Wednesday about Harete Hipango’s alleged dishonesty, the source of that information is none other than National MP and once Party leader, Todd Muller.Talk about a bad case of friendly fire gone wrong.Their current leader Judith ...30 mins ago - We need to fix the ETS again
The Emissions Trading Scheme is one of the government's key tools for driving reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. By putting a price on carbon, businesses face an incentive to reduce emissions, either by cleaning up or shutting down. Or at least, that's the theory. In practice, exemptions, subsidies, persistent low ...46 mins ago - Hard News: Testing the fairies
A new paper by ESR scientists, published in the Australian Journal of Chemistry, has confirmed what close observers of the local cannabis community already knew, or at least suspected: the cannabinoid contents of local "green fairy" products vary widely, ratios in many products are not as claimed – and most ...47 mins ago - Skating On Thin Ice: Labour’s Support Is Not As Solid As It Looks.
Deceptively Solid Support: What Labour would like us to believe is that they are skating on a solid sheet of ideological ice, more that capable of carrying the weight of their cultural revolution. In reality, the ice now bearing their electoral weight is wafer thin. Sadly, Labour’s leaders remain utterly ...6 hours ago - So it begins: The Climate Change Commission’s advice to government and what happened next
What’s that? You wanted action, not just words, on climate change? And you wanted it now, not next year or the year after? How about something big, really big, maybe also diving right into the heart of an emotional, touchstone issue – say, the private car? Welcome to the ...16 hours ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #25, 2021
127 Articles Observations of climate change, effects Anthropogenic and climatic contributions to observed carbon system trends in the Northeast Pacific Franco et al Global Biogeochemical Cycles DOI: 10.1029/2020gb006829 Emergence of seasonal delay of tropical rainfall during 1979–2019 Song et al Nature Climate Change DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-01066-x Dwindling ...19 hours ago - End parliamentary secrecyThe Herald last night revealed that a National MP appears to be a thief: A National Party MP faced allegations of inappropriate spending of taxpayer money – allegations the MP is refusing to front on and which Parliamentary Service refuses to discuss under the cone of silence that protects ...21 hours ago
- Harete Hipango should resignWell that was short lived. Less than two week’s into the job and National's new MP, Harete Hipango, has been accused of misusing taxpayer money.According to a National Party staff member the anti-abortionist used her Parliamentary expense account to purchase numerous furnishings for her own house, which is a gross ...21 hours ago
- PardonedFour years ago, the Spanish government jailed nine Catalan leaders for the "crime" of advocating peacefully for independence. Now, it has pardoned them: Spain’s prime minister has called for a new “era of dialogue and understanding” as his Socialist-led government pardoned nine Catalan independence leaders for their roles in ...22 hours ago
- Time to outlaw ecocideWe live in a time of historic ecological crisis, with the Earth on the verge of dangerous levels of anthropogenic climate change, threatening the ecology, food supplies, world peace, and the habitability of some of the most densely-populated parts of the planet. And while this is going on, some people ...22 hours ago
- Carmel Sepuloni must fix ACCYou may have noticed that the Accident Compensation Corporation, or ACC for short, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently. Not only has newish research shown that the claims process discriminates against woman, Māori and Pasifika people, ACC apparently also penalises Kiwis depending on how and ...23 hours ago
- A slight relaxation of secrecyThe government has introduced a new Crown Minerals (Decommissioning and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. The bill is one of the products of the 2019-20 consultation on the Crown Minerals Act, and mostly addresses the problem of forcing oil companies to clean up their own mess, but it makes a number ...1 day ago
- COVID-19: The rise and rise of DeltaFrom media headlines it feels like hearing the boy cry “fire” in the theatre. There’s a new variant about. Or perhaps he is really a crier, calling out a new season of the show, a new plot twist with a craftier villain? The main feature in town is now the ...2 days ago
- Laurel Hubbard is a trailblazer
Laurel Hubbard has qualified to represent New Zealand at the next Olympics (whenever or wherever those happen) in women’s weightlifting. Virtually no one would have paid any attention to this – weightlifting not being one of the three sports (cricket, netball, league) New Zealanders actually care about – if it ...2 days ago - An attack on parliamentary privilegeToday the Speaker referred the High Court judgement in Staples v Freeman to the Privileges Committee. Its not surprising. The court in its decision finds that a speech by Winston Peters in Parliament was defamatory. That seems to violate s11 of the Parliamentary Privilege Act 2014, which prohibits the courts ...2 days ago
- The problem of police dishonestyRNZ has a major story this morning about the police killing of Shargin Stephens in Rotorua in 2016. The "Independent" Police Conduct Authority of course cleared police of any wrong-doing, and found police actions "reasonable" and the killing justified. The police are now using that finding to prevent a coronial ...2 days ago
- Penk wants to be Prime Minister2 days ago
- Against the militarization of spaceRocketLab is a cool company. Its right there in the title: "rocket". As someone who loves space exploration and the knowledge it brings, I love the fact that they're launching from New Zealand, and I love the fact that they're planning to send probes to the Moon and Venus (and ...2 days ago
- NZ’s clean car discount is a turn in the right direction, but how much will it drive consumer dem...Basil Sharp, University of Auckland New Zealand faces two enormous challenges if it is to meet its international climate change commitments under the Paris Agreement: biogenic methane emissions from agriculture, and carbon emissions from industry and transport. For now, there seems little prospect of significantly reducing agricultural emissions, short ...2 days ago
- More needs to be done about the slumlordsIt always amazes me to see the illogical arguments made by real estate industry insiders when they’re complaining about any type of housing sector regulation. They simply don't seem to care if their arguments make any sense or whether their unbound greed is worsening an already terrible housing crisis that ...2 days ago
- Who Else Is There? Why the Right Needs Winston Peters.2 days ago
- No Questions Please – We’re Revolutionaries!The Kids Were All Right: By stripping away all moral and practical grounds for unified struggle, Critical Race Theory can only strengthen the elites’ grip on contemporary society. The abdication of School Strike For Climate Auckland offers a textbook example of this phenomenon. The moral force of the nation’s secondary students ...2 days ago
- Making climate impact science more accessible to the public: ISIpedia launchThis is a re-post from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research based on their press release about the new Inter-Sectoral Impacts Encyclopedia - ISIpedia for short. Decision-makers on all levels are provided with a new tool to tackle the climate challenge. Data and explanations on global warming impacts – ...2 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – The case for and against the “They Are Us” film
The last week has been full of debate over plans to make a film about the 2019 terrorist attacks on two Christchurch mosques. The vast majority of media coverage has focused on opposition to the film. These criticisms need to be taken seriously. But a strong case can be made ...3 days ago - Perilous Treasures: Published
It’s the Winter Solstice here, which means (Northern Hemisphere) e-zine Eternal Haunted Summer has released its Summer Solstice edition for 2021:https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/summer-solstice-2021/ My story, Perilous Treasures, is out, as part of it:https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/summer-solstice-2021/perilous-treasures/ As previously mentioned, this was a fictional attempt to portray the very vexed medieval issue of writing ...3 days ago - Incompatible regimesThe Official Information Act is our core transparency legislation. But its only covers central government. Local authorities are covered by the parallel Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, which duplicates most of the OIA's provisions, and adds in some stuff about local authority meetings as well. Since the ...3 days ago
- Boris BerlusconiRemember Silvio Berlusconi? Whenever the Italian courts seemed to be catching up to his corrupt behaviour as Prime Minister, he would just change the law to get himself off the hook. Well, now there's a new contender for the "self-serving abuse of power" title: Boris Johnson: Boris Johnson is ...3 days ago
- Climate explained: could biofuels replace all fossil fuels in New Zealand?Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz Could biofuels replace all fossil fuels in ...3 days ago
- Josh Van Veen: NZ First UnbowedThe improbability of NZ First returning to power cannot be overstated. Between 2017 and 2020, support for the party collapsed from 7.2% to 2.6%. With barely a third of its 2020 vote, and no electorate seat, NZ First appears to be a spent force. But the party faithful were ...3 days ago
- Health co-benefits need to be adequately considered in the Climate Change Commission’s final advic...Tim Chambers, Simon Hales, Jude Ball, Michael Baker, Cristina Cleghorn, Nick Wilson (*Author details) The Climate Change Commission’s final advice to the Government has been tabled in Parliament. This final report further acknowledged the potential health co-benefits of climate action presented in the Commission’s draft advice. However, the Commission has ...3 days ago
- Winston's last throw of the diceYou’ve got to wonder if Winston Peters will ever retire. I mean what keeps the old rogue going? Perhaps Peters has been reinvigorated by the Government’s decision to follow through on various policy NZ First had previously put the kibosh on...or maybe he thinks there's still a chance of becoming ...3 days ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #25Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, June 14, 2021 through Sat, June 19, 2021 The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: Earth is now trapping an ‘unprecedented’ amount of heat, NASA says, Fake news: a simple nudge isn’t ...4 days ago
- Goldilocks and the three futuresGoldilocks, the house breaker, always had a choice of three, one of which always appeared to be just right. Temporally, there’s three types of futures too. Short-term, medium-term, and long-term. Those are all relative, depending on what you are looking at. Some technologies, for example, change very quickly, so “long-term” ...4 days ago
- Baby talk 3: the eggs, the lube, the triggeringSo we took a bit of an unscheduled posting hiatus there; but more on that later. Today we’re talking eggs, lube, and triggers. Just as the self-injection routine started to get good and routine, and I wasn’t having a total emotional break on a daily basis, came the sharp reminder ...4 days ago
- ‘There is no debate’ is simply a denial of reality
Hat tip to Mike Treen from Unite Union for this article by Lindsey Graham published in Counterfire. It raises important debates that are happening in many parts of the world, including New ZealandGood morning. I want to raise some issues here about the whole debate on trans rights in Britain. ...5 days ago - Leaked cabinet papers won’t help ACTIt was somewhat amusing to see the Act Party completely misread the room this week when they leaked a Labour Party document concerning our oceans and fisheries. It outlined the Government's intention to discuss several marine policies at cabinet, the most controversial being the installation of 300 cameras on commercial ...5 days ago
- Writing the Rights: No Right Turn is Wrong
New Zealand’s extreme form of parliamentary sovereignty is something of an international oddity these days. Under the New Zealand system, an Act passed by Parliament (and hence signed by the Governor-General) is automatically law. And in the absence of a written constitution, Parliament can Do Anything. Literally. Our checks ...6 days ago - Unemployment Insurance
Providing for the redundantly unemployed is admirable but difficult and expensive to implement.The 2021 Budget announced that the government was, at the urging of Business NZ and the Council of Trade Unions, committed to the development of a Social Unemployment Insurance scheme. It is likely to have two main components. ...6 days ago - Losing The “Struggle-Session” Over Climate Change.Blaming And Shaming: A "property owner" is humiliated before the masses during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution. Critical Race Theory may substitute "White Privilege" for "Class Privilege", but the inescapability of the offending group's responsibility for "oppression" is exactly the same. The self-abasement of School Strike For Climate Auckland for its ...6 days ago
- Cleaning up the fishing industryThe government is finally cleaning up the fishing industry, with cameras on boats and an end to high-grading, with an easier penalties regime to enforce it. Good. Because as we've seen over the years, the fishing industry is pervasively criminal, routinely violating the law on discarding fish and reporting bycatch. ...6 days ago
- PM’s critics should stick to the factsThere’s been a lot of grumbling lately amongst the right wing and certain mainstream media pundits who are looking to either score cheap political points or attract readers by attacking the Prime Minister.Of course some of the criticism is justified. After all no Government is perfect and there are always ...6 days ago
- Climate Change: Auckland fails IILast year, the Auckland Council passed a climate change plan, setting goals of halving emissions by 2030, and net-zero by 2050. So you'd expect their new transport plan to be consistent with that goal, right? Wrong: The 10-year transport plan for Auckland has emerged from consultation with small changes, ...6 days ago
- Anti-fluoridation group tells porkies about NZ fluoridation review
FFNZ spreads misinformation about the NZ fluoridation review – yet again New Zealand opponents of community water fluoridation (CWF) are at it again. Their only response to the recently upgraded fluoridation review is to call it “propaganda” and to completely misrepresent it. But it’s interesting to look at their misrepresentation ...6 days ago - Landmark decision in the sex and gender debateOn June 10, after two years of legal battles, Maya Forstater won a landmark legal ruling that looks set to change the direction of the sex and gender debates in the Britain, and provide legal protection for gender-critical people against discrimination and harassment. This ruling will be important in New Zealand. ...6 days ago
- CSLDF and the Government Accountability Project Launch New Scientific Integrity Reporting ProjectThis is a guest post by the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund. Today, the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund and Government Accountability Project launched the Scientific Integrity Reporting Project: a confidential, anonymous way for scientists and others in science-adjacent roles to detail their experiences involving past and ongoing threats to scientific norms and scientific integrity. We ...7 days ago
- Australia needs a Bill of Rights ActAustralia is one of the few western democracies not to have legal protection for fundamental human rights. The closest they come is recognising an implied right to freedom of political communication (but not other forms of freedom of expression) from the "representative government" clauses of their constitution. But some of ...7 days ago
- FalloutLast week I revealed how the Police had lied to the public over their "emissions-free fleet" strategy. Stuff's Henry Cooke has done the obvious followup of asking the Minister what she thinks about it, and it seems she is not happy: Police Minister Poto Williams says she is disappointed ...7 days ago
- Can we be born into the wrong body?by Don Franks Are some of us born into the wrong body? The possibility is sometimes offered as a clinching argument that some people need to, and are able to, change their sex. With one proviso, the answer has to be, yes, such a thing is possible. The only requirement ...1 week ago
- Moa’s Ark or flypaper of the Pacific – New Zealand’s place in the biology of the PacificIt was the year 2002 and I was sitting in the shiny new office of our Biogeography Professor for my oral Diploma exam. It was going well, when I was asked to name an example of a Gondwanan distribution pattern, or in other words a species or group of species ...1 week ago
- Auckland is the world’s ‘most liveable city’? Many Māori might disagreeElla Henry, Auckland University of Technology While I am always happy to celebrate any accolades my country and city might garner on the international stage, seeing Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau awarded the top ranking in a recent “most liveable cities” survey left me somewhat flummoxed. In particular, I would argue that ...1 week ago
- Patrick Gower – Hero of the week1 week ago
- Juliet Moses – Arsehole of the Week1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #24, 2021A hot budget problem This week's standout article for highlighting is Satellite and Ocean Data Reveal Marked Increase in Earth's Heating Rate (open access). From the two very different perspectives of above the atmosphere and below it, a team of authors led by Norman Loeb (head of NASA's CERES program) and including Gregory Johnson (head ...1 week ago
- Let it dieThe fishing industry is complaining in the Herald about their "labour shortage" and lamenting the fact that Young People These Days for some reason don't want to work for six weeks at a time doing hard, dangerous work on a boat in the middle of nowhere, and never seeing their ...1 week ago
- More bigotry in HungaryLast year Hungary ended legal recognition of trans people and banned gay people from adopting children. Now, they've followed that up with a Russian-style "propaganda law", banning "promotion" of homosexuality in schools or on TV: Hungary’s parliament has passed a law banning gay people from featuring in school educational ...1 week ago
- Institutionally corruptOver thirty years ago private investigator Daniel Morgan was murdered in London. The UK police repeatedly fucked up the investigation so obviously and blatantly that the government was forced to call a public inquiry. Now, after years of obstruction, it has finally reported back, finding the police to be "institutionally ...1 week ago
- With seas rising, stalled research budgets must also riseThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe and Eric Rignot From 1900 to 2000, the ocean along the U.S. East Coast rose at twice the annual rate of the pace in the previous 19 centuries, according to a recent study from Rutgers University. From Miami to New York to ...1 week ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Worst could be yet to come for New Zealanders’ perceptions of ChinaNew Zealanders’ hostility towards China is growing rapidly – but the worst may be still ahead. International analyst Geoffrey Miller examines the latest survey results on how this country feels about China. The latest “Perceptions of Asia” survey from the Asia New Zealand Foundation, released today, shows a sharp rise ...1 week ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – Cash for access to politicians continuesShould anyone have trust in politicians, given the manner in which they solicit money from the wealthy? Probably not, since virtually every party in Parliament in recent times has been found to be involved in flaunting the law or accepting dodgy donations from the rich. News reports of questionable donations ...1 week ago
- Proceed to your nearest (virtual) exit: gaming technology is teaching us how people respond to emer...Ruggiero Lovreglio, Massey University Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) aren’t just for gaming anymore, they’re also proving to be useful tools for disaster safety research. In fact, they could save lives. Around the world, natural and human-made disasters such as earthquakes, bushfires and terrorist attacks threaten substantial ...1 week ago
- Inaction speaks louder than wordsOne of the good things the government has done is implement a proactive release policy, requiring most cabinet papers to be published within 30 working days of a decision being made. Its not a perfect policy (note "most", but also they get to redact them however they want, without oversight), ...1 week ago
- Graham Adams: The dangers of putting media on the government’s payrollAccusations by a journalist that the Prime Minister leads an unusually secretive government don’t tell the whole story about its desire to control information. Graham Adams takes a closer look at the guidelines for the new $55 million journalism fund. Despite widespread cynicism about the Government’s ability to fulfil its ...1 week ago
- David Seymour caught telling liesAct Party Leader David SeymourIt really bothers me when the NZ Herald reports the claims of certain right wing politicians as the truth without any fact checking. Not only do they encourage dishonest politicians to continue to lie, they also degrade the standard of reporting we get in New Zealand.Of ...1 week ago
- To Speak, Or Not To Speak? That Is The Question.Speaking Rights: The spectacle of the nation’s prime minister being denied the right to speak to her fellow citizens, personally, on New Zealand’s national day would generate massive antagonism among Pakeha of both sexes. A refusal to be guided by the customs of Ngāpuhi, on the other hand, would be ...1 week ago
- We discovered what’s killing the world’s rarest penguin – and it could help us make a vaccineVartul Sangal, Northumbria University, Newcastle Yellow-eyed penguins are the most endangered penguin species in the world, with just 4,000 left in the wild. Found only in New Zealand and its outlying islands, these birds can grow up to 79cm tall and weigh 8.5kg, which is similar to a one-year-old ...1 week ago
- The COVID-19 lab leak theory highlights a glaring lack of global biosecurity regulationAlexander Gillespie, University of Waikato The revived debate over whether COVID-19 could be the result of an accidental release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology may never be adequately resolved. Either way, we risk not seeing the wood for the trees. While the World Health Organization (WHO) reported in ...1 week ago
- Opponents of fluoridation all at sea with new legislationImage credit: Why Ideology and Science Don’t Mix Opponents of community water fluoridation (CWF) should be supporting the proposed fluoridation legislation instead of organising opposition to it. Think about it. If Fluoride Free NZ (FFNZ) was honest in its claim that they are ...1 week ago
- Silent calamity: The health impacts of wildfire smoke
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson Articles on U.S. wildfires don’t often show a photo of someone gasping in a hospital bed or felled by a heart attack. Yet an increasing body of evidence suggests that the biggest societal impacts of increasing wildland fire are happening ...1 week ago- Smokefree 2025
The Government’s proposed approach for achieving SmokeFree 2025 is a bit over-the-top. The proposals would restrict tobacco sales to a smaller number of to-be-licenced R18 outlets, which could then be subject to a sinking lid; impose an annual one-year increase in the purchase age for tobacco until full prohibition were ...1 week ago- Update on Long-COVID
Prof John D. Potter* This blog post updates an earlier post on Long-COVID and reports that estimates of prevalence are still wide at about 15 to 65% of those initially infected with the pandemic virus, SARS-CoV-2. As things stand now across the world, we do not yet have systems in ...1 week ago- A long-overdue apology
The New Zealand government is going to formally apologise for the "dawn raids" which targeted Pacific peoples in the 1970's. Good. Terrorising people on the basis of their race was wrong and something which should be a lasting shame to New Zealand. But there's another wrong they need to apologise ...1 week ago- Climate Change: The return of feebate
The government has resurrected its feebate policy to lower transport emissions, taxing dirty vehicles to subsidise clean ones. Good. We've known for a long time that passive measures such as fuel economy ratings and up-front labelling of lifetime costs weren't enough, and neither was the ETS (which adds just a ...1 week ago- National wants to convert farms into pine forests
It really hasn’t been a good time on the opposition benches lately. Not only have we had the various National Party scandals to ensure a decline in their public support, they’ve also entirely misread the room when it comes to the Climate Change Commission’s final report and the Government’s Clean ...1 week ago- Government for sale again
When the National Party ran a "Cabinet Club", selling personal access to Cabinet Ministers in exchange for large donations, I called it Government for Sale. Now the Labour party is doing the same thing: The Labour Party is selling tickets to a “business conference" featuring the prime minister and ...1 week ago- Nobody Owns The Christchurch Tragedy.
Mass Outpourings Of Love And Solidarity: In excess of 20,000 Wellingtonians gathered at the basin Reserve in mid-March 2019 to reaffirm Prime Minister Ardern's "They are Us" response to the Christchurch Mosque Shootings. The opponents of the "They Are Us" movie project would rather the world was not reminded of ...1 week ago - Silent calamity: The health impacts of wildfire smoke
- Greens urge Wellington Council to support a Spatial Plan that best addresses the climate and housing...
The Green Party is urging Wellington City Council to pass an ambitious Spatial Plan that sets Wellington up for action on the housing crisis, allowing for more new homes close to the city centre. ...2 days ago - Housing solutions, accelerated
New Zealand’s housing crisis has been decades in the making. And we know that one of the key barriers to the construction of more homes is a lack of basic infrastructure. Our $3.8 billion Housing Acceleration Fund – designed to speed up the pace and scale of house building – ...2 days ago - Small steps for Hauraki Gulf protection, much more action neededThe Green Party welcomes the Government’s proposals for increased marine protection in the Hauraki Gulf, released today, but says much more needs to be done. ...2 days ago
- Greens announce Members Bill to stop military launches at Rocket Lab protestThe Green Party’s Security and Intelligence spokesperson, and Te Mātāwaka member Teanau Tuiono MP launched his Member’s Bill at the ‘STOP militarisation’ protest today outside RocketLabs Headquarters in Tāmaki Makaurau. This Bill will amend the Outer Space and High altitude Activities Act and prohibit the launching of military hardware into ...3 days ago
- Green Party supports call to end youth detention in police cellsThe Green Party strongly supports the call by the Children’s Commissioner to repeal the law allowing youth to be held in police cells. ...3 days ago
- Working in partnership with our primary sectorA few great days at Fieldays are done and dusted! We had a huge team of Labour MPs at Mystery Creek this year – and we were there because partnering with farmers, growers, and our rural communities matters to us. ...6 days ago
- Chlöe Swarbrick puts Bill aimed at minimising alcohol harm in Members’ ballotGreen Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick has put the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Harm Minimisation) Amendment Bill into the Members’ ballot. ...6 days ago
- Investing in our rural communitiesFarmers and growers have been the economic backbone for New Zealand throughout COVID-19, and our primary sector will be at the heart of our recovery. This week, as Fieldays gets underway, we’ve outlined the next steps in our work with farmers to secure our recovery. ...6 days ago
- Green MPs back calls for work to stop immediately in Pūtiki Bay following unnecessary police presen...Green MPs Dr Elizabeth Kerekere and Chlöe Swarbrick strongly support the calls by Ngāti Paoa for Auckland Council to immediately step in to stop works happening in Pūtiki Bay/Kennedy Point today. ...7 days ago
- Acting boldly to address the housing crisis so we all thriveTēnā koe Minister Woods, ...1 week ago
- Addressing period poverty in schoolsToday, we’re taking the next step in our work to support children and young people in poverty, starting to roll out free period products in more than 1,600 schools and kura across New Zealand. ...1 week ago
- Dawn Raids apology welcomed, needs to be backed up with amnestyThe Green Party’s Te Mātāwaka Māori and Pasifika Caucus welcomes an announcement today by the Prime Minister to apologise for the Dawn Raids. ...1 week ago
- Making cleaner cars accessible to more KiwisToday, we’re taking action in line with the advice of the Climate Change Commission to reduce our carbon footprint, so future generations have a fair go. Our Clean Car package, announced this morning, delivers on our promise to cut transport emissions. It will make it easier to make the switch ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party set to deliver open letter to Immigration Minister with 17k signaturesThe Green Party will deliver its open letter asking the Minister for Immigration to fix the broken immigration system next week. ...2 weeks ago
- Dr Elizabeth Kerekere receives her COVID-19 vaccinationToday, Green Party MP Dr Elizabeth Kerekere received her COVID-19 vaccination from Tamaiti Whāngai COVID-19 vaccination centre, which had its official opening yesterday. ...2 weeks ago
- Our action on climate changeIn 2019, we established the Climate Change Commission to provide independent advice on climate change action and to hold this Government and future Governments to account. Today, the Commission's final advice was released. It sets out the total amount of global warming pollution Aotearoa must cut by 2035 to be ...2 weeks ago
- Our action on climate changeIn 2019, we established the Climate Change Commission to provide independent advice on climate change action and to hold this Government and future Governments to account. Today, the Commission's final advice was released. It sets out the total amount of global warming pollution Aotearoa must cut by 2035 to be ...2 weeks ago
- It’s time to get behind our nursesThe Green Party supports the 30,000 nurses striking today for better pay and safer working conditions. ...2 weeks ago
- Celebrating our oceansAotearoa New Zealand is surrounded by Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, the Pacific Ocean. The ocean is central to our identities and to our ecosystems. The Big Blue both isolates us from other countries and connects us to our Pacific neighbours. We have the seventh largest maritime area in the world, ranging from ...2 weeks ago
- Caring for the land, caring for peopleHere in New Zealand, we have a remarkable natural environment, with unique ecosystems and native species. It’s taken millions of years for Aotearoa to develop this precious environment – and it’s up to us to protect it! In collaboration with communities across the country, we’re doing just that. ...3 weeks ago
- Caring for the land, caring for peopleHere in New Zealand, we have a remarkable natural environment, with unique ecosystems and native species. It’s taken millions of years for Aotearoa to develop this precious environment – and it’s up to us to protect it! In collaboration with communities across the country, we’re doing just that. ...3 weeks ago
- How much do you know about Aotearoa’s unique environment?Test your knowledge this World Environment Day! Think you’re a nature super-fan? Can’t tell a kauri from a kāmahi? To celebrate World Environment Day this week, we’ve put together a quiz to test how much you know about Te Taiao. Flex your nature muscles or learn something new about the ...3 weeks ago
- Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman receives her COVID-19 vaccinationToday Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman, who is immunocompromised, received her first COVID-19 vaccination at the Auckland CBD vaccination centre. ...3 weeks ago
- Prime Minister congratulates victorious Black Caps
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated Kane Williamson and the Black Caps for their victory over India in the final of the inaugural Cricket World Test Championship. “The Black Caps have made New Zealand proud. This was a masterful performance from a team at the top of their game and ...3 hours ago - Further action to tackle cervical cancerParliament has taken another step to help reduce the number of women who develop cervical cancer, with the Health (National Cervical Screening Programme) Amendment Bill passing its third reading. “I am very pleased by the robust consideration this Bill has received. It will ensure technology allows healthcare providers to directly ...3 hours ago
- $500 million seized from gangs and criminalsA significant Government milestone has been reached with $500 million in cash and assets seized from gangs and criminals by Police over the past four years, Police Minister Poto Williams announced today. “During our last term in office, this target was set for 2021 with Police as part of our ...5 hours ago
- Congratulations to the Black Caps – World ChampionsMinister of Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson has congratulated the Black Caps as the deserved winners of the inaugural World Test Cricket Championship. “The Black Caps have pulled off a remarkable and deserved win in the World Test Championship final against India. The final is the culmination of two years ...5 hours ago
- Alert Level 2 in Wellington, Wairarapa and Kāpiti CoastAlert Level 2 measures are now in place for Wellington, Wairarapa and Kāpiti Coast to the north of Ōtaki, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. These measures are precautionary, following the potential exposure of New Zealanders to a COVID-19 case from Sydney. The person visited a range of locations in ...18 hours ago
- Speech to the India New Zealand Business Council Summit5pm, Wednesday 23 June 2021 [CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY] Tuia te Rangi e tū nei Tuia te Papa e takoto nei Tuia te here tangata Ka rongo te pō, ka rongo te Ao Tihei Mauri Ora Introduction Namaskar, tēnā koe and good evening. Thank you for your kind invitation to ...19 hours ago
- Financial support for caregivers widenedChildren’s Minister Kelvin Davis has welcomed changes that will make it easier for caregivers looking after children outside of the state care system to access much-needed financial assistance. The Social Security (Financial Assistance for Caregivers) Amendment Bill will also allow these caregivers to access further benefits previously unavailable to them. ...21 hours ago
- Agencies to have powers to secure maritime domainA Bill introduced to Parliament today aims to prevent serious criminal offending at sea, including transnational offending and organised crime, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced. “Aotearoa New Zealand will be better placed to keep our maritime environment secure against threats like drugs trafficking, wildlife trafficking and human trafficking with the ...22 hours ago
- Critical support for New Zealand’s budding researchersFellowships to attract and retain talented researchers in the early stages of their career, have been awarded to 30 New Zealanders, Associate Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “I am pleased to congratulate these researchers, who will be receiving funding through the MBIE Science Whitinga Fellowship. ...1 day ago
- Bill to stop taxpayers having to fund oil field decommissionsThe Government is preventing taxpayers picking up the bill for the decommissioning of oil fields, says Energy and Resource Minister Dr Megan Woods. “After the Crown had to take responsibility for decommissioning the Tui oil field, it became clear to me that the current requirements around decommissioning are inadequate and ...1 day ago
- Quarantine Free Travel from New South Wales to New Zealand to pauseNew Zealand’s Quarantine Free Travel from New South Wales to New Zealand will be paused while the source of infection of new cases announced in Sydney is investigated, says COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins. There are 10 new community cases of COVID-19 today in New South Wales, taking the Australian ...2 days ago
- Milestone reached for Iwi Affiliation Population CountsIwi affiliation data released today provides updated population counts for all iwi and addresses gaps in Māori data originating from the 2018 Census, says Associate Minister of Statistics Meka Whaitiri. “The release of the 2018 Iwi Affiliation Estimated Counts is a really important step, and I acknowledge the hard work ...2 days ago
- Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill passes first readingTreaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little welcomed Ngāti Rangitihi to Parliament today to witness the first reading of The Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. “I know it took a lot of hard work, time and patience by all parties involved to reach this significant milestone. I am honoured to ...2 days ago
- Speech to the Sustainable Healthcare and Climate Health Conference AotearoaMihi Tēnā tātou katoa Kei ngā pou o te whare hauora ki Aotearoa, kei te mihi. Tēnā koutou i tā koutou pōwhiri mai i ahau. E mihi ana ki ngā taura tangata e hono ana i a tātou katoa, ko te kaupapa o te rā tērā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ...2 days ago
- Infrastructure Acceleration Fund opening for businessCriteria to access at least $1 billion of the $3.8 billion Housing Acceleration Fund (HAF), announced in March, is now available, and an invitation for expressions of interest will be released on 30 June, Housing Minister Megan Woods has announced. “This is a key milestone in our plan to accelerate ...2 days ago
- Bringing back the health of Hauraki GulfNew marine protection areas and restrictions on fishing are among a raft of changes being put in place to protect the Hauraki Gulf for future generations. The new strategy, Revitalising the Gulf – Government action on the Sea Change Plan, released today, draws on input from mana whenua, local communities, ...2 days ago
- Speech to AI Forum – Autonomous Weapons SystemsAI Forum New Zealand, Auckland Good evening and thank you so much for joining me this evening. I’d like to start with a thank you to the AI Forum Executive for getting this event off the ground and for all their work and support to date. The prospect of autonomous ...3 days ago
- New Zealand boosts support to Fiji for COVID-19 impactAotearoa New Zealand is providing additional support to Fiji to mitigate the effects of the current COVID-19 outbreak on vulnerable households, Foreign Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “Recognising the increasingly challenging situation in Fiji, Aotearoa will provide an additional package of assistance to support the Government of Fiji and ...3 days ago
- Round 2 of successful energy education fund now open$1.65 million available in Support for Energy Education in Communities funding round two Insights from SEEC to inform future energy hardship programmes Community organisations that can deliver energy education to households in need are being invited to apply for the second funding round of the Support for Energy Education in ...3 days ago
- New Ngarimu scholarships to target vocational trainingAssociate Education Minister Kelvin Davis today announced three new scholarships for students in vocational education and training (VET) are to be added to the suite of prestigious Ngarimu scholarships. “VET learners have less access to study support than university students and this is a way to tautoko their learning dreams ...3 days ago
- Recognising the volunteers who support our health systemNominations have opened today for the 2021 Minister of Health Volunteer Awards, as part of National Volunteer Week. “We know that New Zealanders donate at least 159 million hours of volunteer labour every year,” Minister of Health Andrew Little said in launching this year’s awards in Wellington. “These people play ...3 days ago
- Drug Free Sport supported to deal with new doping challengesDrug Free Sport New Zealand will receive a funding boost to respond to some of the emerging doping challenges across international sport. The additional $4.3 million over three years comes from the Sport Recovery Fund announced last year. It will help DFSNZ improve athletes’ understanding of the risks of doping, ...3 days ago
- Government support for South Auckland community hit by tornadoThe Government is contributing $100,000 to a Mayoral Relief Fund to support Auckland communities impacted by the Papatoetoe tornado, Acting Minister for Emergency Management Kris Faafoi says. “My heart goes out to the family and friends who have lost a loved one, and to those who have been injured. I ...4 days ago
- Celebrating World Refugee DayWorld Refugee Day today is an opportunity to celebrate the proud record New Zealanders have supporting and protecting refugees and acknowledge the contribution these new New Zealanders make to our country, the Minister of Immigration Kris Faafoi said. “World Refugee Day is also a chance to think about the journey ...4 days ago
- Face to face meeting delivers significant progress on NZ-UK FTANew Zealand and the UK have committed to accelerating their free trade agreement negotiations with the aim of reaching an agreement in principle this August, Trade Minister Damien O’Connor announced. “We’ve held constructive and productive discussions towards the conclusion of a high-quality and comprehensive FTA that will support sustainable and inclusive trade, and ...5 days ago
- Government taking action to protect albatrossNew population figures for the critically endangered Antipodean albatross showing a 5 percent decline per year highlights the importance of reducing all threats to these very special birds, Acting Minister of Conservation Dr Ayesha Verrall says. The latest population modelling, carried out by Dragonfly Data Science, shows the Antipodean albatross ...6 days ago
- Adoption laws under reviewNew Zealand’s 66-year-old adoption laws are being reviewed, with public engagement beginning today. Justice Minister Kris Faafoi said the Government is seeking views on options for change to our adoption laws and system. “The Adoption Act has remained largely the same since 1955. We need our adoption laws to reflect ...6 days ago
- Wider roll-out of cameras on boats to support sustainability and protect marine lifeUp to 300 inshore commercial fishing vessels will be fitted with on-board cameras by 2024 as part of the Government’s commitment to protect the natural marine environment for future generations. Minister for Oceans and Fisheries David Parker today announced the funding is now in place for the wider roll out ...7 days ago
- Plan for vaccine rollout for general population announcedNew Zealanders over 60 will be offered a vaccination from July 28 and those over 55 from August 11, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. The rollout of the vaccine to the general population will be done in age groups as is the approach commonly used overseas, with those over ...7 days ago
- New Zealand introduces Belarus travel bansNew Zealand has imposed travel bans on selected individuals associated with the Lukashenko regime, following ongoing concerns about election fraud and human rights abuses after the 2020 Belarus elections, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced. The ban covers more than fifty individuals, including the President and key members of ...7 days ago
- NZ economy grows driven by households, construction and business investmentThe Government’s efforts to secure the recovery have been reflected in the robust rebound of GDP figures released today which show the economy remains resilient despite the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Grant Robertson said. GDP increased 1.6 percent in the first three months of 2021. The Treasury had ...1 week ago
- Milestone 250th tower continues to improve rural connectivityThe Government has welcomed the completion of the 250th 4G mobile tower, as part of its push for better rural connectivity. Waikato’s Wiltsdown, which is roughly 80 kilometres south of Hamilton, is home to the new tower, deployed by the Rural Connectivity Group to enable improved service to 70 homes ...1 week ago
- Quarantine Free Travel pause with Victoria to lift on TuesdayFollowing a further public health assessment of the COVID-19 outbreak in greater Melbourne, New Zealand’s Quarantine Free Travel pause with Victoria has been extended to 11.59pm on Tuesday 22 June, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. It has been determined that the risk to public health in New Zealand continues ...1 week ago
- Prime Minister mourns passing of Dr Sir Ian HassallPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern is mourning the passing of Dr Sir Ian Hassall, New Zealand’s first Children’s Commissioner and lifelong champion for children and children’s health. As a paediatrician Sir Ian contributed to a major world-first cot death study that has been directly credited with reducing cot deaths in New ...1 week ago
- APEC structural reform meeting a successAPEC ministers have agreed working together will be crucial to ensure economies recover from the impact of COVID-19. Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs David Clark, chaired the virtual APEC Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting today which revolved around the overarching theme of promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth ...1 week ago
- Digital hub to boost investment in forestryA new website has been launched at Fieldays to support the forestry sector find the information it needs to plant, grow and manage trees, and to encourage investment across the wider industry. Forestry Minister Stuart Nash says the new Canopy website is tailored for farmers, iwi and other forestry interests, ...1 week ago
- Government continues support for rangatahi to get into employment, education and trainingOver 230 rangatahi are set to benefit from further funding through four new He Poutama Rangatahi programmes, Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni announced today. “We’re continuing to secure our economic recovery from COVID by investing in opportunities for rangatahi to get into meaningful employment, education or training ...1 week ago
- NCEA subjects up for consultationThe education sector, students, their parents, whānau and communities are invited to share their thoughts on a list of proposed NCEA subjects released today, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. This is a significant part of the Government’s NCEA Change Programme that commenced in 2020 and will be largely implemented by ...1 week ago
- Major investment in plantain forage programme aims to improve freshwater qualityThe Government is backing a major programme investigating plantain’s potential to help farmers protect waterways and improve freshwater quality, Acting Agriculture Minister Meka Whaitiri announced at Fieldays today. The Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFFF) fund is contributing $8.98 million to the $22.23 million seven-year programme, which aims to deliver ...1 week ago
- America’s Cup decisionThe Minister responsible for the America’s Cup has confirmed the joint Crown-Auckland Council offer to host the next regatta has been declined by the Board of Team New Zealand. “The exclusive period of negotiation between the Crown, Auckland Council, and Team New Zealand ends tomorrow, 17 June,” said Stuart Nash. ...1 week ago
- Eat it, haters. NZ are the champions, the greatest test side in the world
Historically, Black Caps tragics have not had an easy time of it but today’s result confirmed how dramatically that had changed. Now, finally, is the time for unbridled joy, writes Samuel Flynn-Scott. Drifting in and out of a fitful sleep, I stopped resisting and picked up my phone one last time. ...38 mins ago - Safer Drinking Water Key Issue For New Zealanders
Water New Zealand says events such as the Havelock North contamination crisis and the frequent number of boil water notices in some parts of the country have led to drinking water becoming identified as our number one infrastructure issue. Chief ...1 hour ago - Taxpayers’ Union Calls Out “coding Error” ExcuseThe Taxpayers’ Union is calling BS on claims that inappropriate spending of parliamentary funds by MP Harete Hipango was the result of a “coding error”. Union spokesperson Jordan Williams says, “A number of our staff used to work at Parliament and would ...1 hour ago
- Employment Indicators: Weekly As At 21 June 2021The experimental weekly series provides an early indicator of employment and labour market changes in a more timely manner than the monthly employment indicators series. Key facts The 6-day series includes jobs with a pay period equal to or less than ...1 hour ago
- We just watched the Blackcaps make cricket historyThe Offspin’s Alex Braae celebrates the Blackcaps’ monumental overnight World Test Championship victory, and the culmination of six days of intense early-morning podcasting.Follow The Offspin on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast provider.Six nights of tension. Two years of dominating the international circuit. Eight years of cultural reform and ...2 hours ago
- New Report Reveals New Zealanders' Views On Infrastructure IssuesOver 23,000 New Zealanders have called for action to address the country’s infrastructure issues in a new report published today by the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga. ...2 hours ago
- NZ Needs To Sign Up To International Law Making Workplaces Free From Violence And HarassmentA new international law to keep workplaces free from violence and harassment comes into effect on Friday 25 June. "The International Labour Organisation (an agency of the United Nations) adopted the Violence and Harassment Convention , 2019 (190) ...3 hours ago
- NZ’s housing market is broken and we’ve got the maps to prove itInspired by a map of the US housing market, analyst Emma Vitz created a graph showing how much people needed to earn to afford a property in their region. It quickly went viral.From the comfort of my 23 square metre apartment that I most definitely do not own, I mapped ...3 hours ago
- Dirty secrets: sediment DNA reveals a 300,000-year timeline of ancient and modern humans living in S...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elena Zavala, PhD Student, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Collection of sediment DNA samples in the Main Chamber of Denisova Cave. Bert Roberts, Author provided In the foothills of the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia lies Denisova Cave. It is the ...4 hours ago - With Aung San Suu Kyi facing prison, Myanmar’s opposition is leaderless, desperate and ready to fi...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Simpson, Senior Lecturer, University of South Australia As Aung San Suu Kyi finally faced court last week to defend herself against a litany of politically motivated charges, Myanmar is continuing its downward spiral into state failure. Suu Kyi was arrested following ...4 hours ago
- Stopping, blocking and dampening – how Aussie drugs in the pipeline could treat COVID-19Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vasso Apostolopoulos, Professor of Immunology and Associate Provost, Research Partnerships, Victoria University Shutterstock While widespread vaccination is key in our fight against COVID-19, people who are infected still need better treatment to improve their chance of survival and making a ...4 hours ago
- The government’s idea of ‘national environment standards’ would entrench Australia’s global ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martine Maron, ARC Future Fellow and Professor of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland A growing global push to halt biodiversity decline, most recently agreed at the G7 on Sunday, leaves Australia out in the cold as the federal government walks away ...4 hours ago
- ‘You’re the best!’ Your belief in your kids’ academic ability can actually improve their gra...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip D. Parker, Professor and Deputy Director, Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University Shutterstock We have all met the parent who thinks their kid is the next Picasso or Einstein regardless of the evidence. But it’s hard ...4 hours ago
- Meat pies, desert, bloody dingoes: new Australian film Buckley’s Chance brims with dated cultural ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Transmission Films Review: Buckley’s Chance, directed by Tim Brown. It’s a classic trope of Australian cinema: a foreigner comes here and discovers a wild, rugged place, replete with ...4 hours ago
- The adaptation era arrivesFor decades, climate change discussions have been dominated by what we can do to stop it, but there is a growing focus on how we live with its consequences.In recent years the conversation about climate change has been growing larger and louder, with everyone from activist investors to right-leaning politicians ...4 hours ago
- Live updates, June 24: Testing in the spotlight as Wellington wakes to alert level twoWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for June 24, bringing you the latest news updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nzWe’re doing our utmost to keep you updated on all the Covid-19 coverage. We can’t do it without the generous support of our members. If you want ...4 hours ago
- The Bulletin: Wellington waits nervously amid move to level twoGood morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wellington waits nervously amid move to level two, Todd Muller leaving politics at next election, and banks making major profits amid big lending demand.For the first time ever, Wellington’s Covid restrictions are more stringent than that of the rest of ...5 hours ago
- Soaring power prices drive firms to invest in solar energy
The rising cost of wholesale power is forcing some businesses to consider investing in solar energy, writes Nicholas Pointon. Many firms are facing significant hikes to renew their fixed power contracts, as dry weather, low hydro lake levels and a shortage of natural gas puts upward pressure on prices. Christchurch-based manufacturing firm, ...5 hours ago - Amount earned from managed isolation and quarantine fees far less than expected
Officials have told the government they are sometimes struggling to identify who needs to pay for their managed isolation stay. ...5 hours ago - The future of NZ First and its leaderThe Detail - From positions of power to periods in the political wilderness, the party's chances of a return to its glory days seem to rest with long-time leader Winston Peters. ...6 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 24 June
Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. ...7 hours ago - Newsroom daily crossword, Thursday 24 June
...7 hours ago - Memory Games: The boxer floored by the haka
Alexis Pritchard - the first New Zealand female boxer to win an Olympic bout, in London 2012 - recalls watching a swimming legend with her grandpa, being overwhelmed by the haka, and her message for boxer David Nyika, in the Memory Games Q&A with LockerRoom writers who've been to the Olympics. ...7 hours ago - Saving the mighty albatross
It's not too late to turn around the decline of our albatross populations, despite the multiple threats they face today. Ariel Micaiah-Heswall looks at how. Albatrosses are an amazing group of animals. They spend an incredible 84 percent of their lives soaring across the ocean, foraging and migrating thousands of ...7 hours ago - Covid outbreak either easy to contain or out of control
On the one hand, the ramifications of the Sydney Covid-19 case who visited Wellington should be easy to handle. On the other, the Delta variant could throw health officials for a loop, Marc Daalder writes. Analysis: New Zealand has dealt with Covid-19 outbreaks before and always succeeded in eliminating the virus. But the ...7 hours ago - Bringing back Winston
From positions of pivotal power in governments to periods in the political wilderness, NZ First is the enigma of New Zealand politics. The party's chances of a return to its glory days seem to rest, as they always do, with its long-time leader Winston Peters. They're out, but they're not ...7 hours ago - Newsroom daily crossword, Friday 25 June
...7 hours ago - Newsroom's daily sudoku, Thursday 24 June
...7 hours ago - How Laurel Hubbard’s road to Tokyo is forcing a rethink on what inclusivity really meansThe trans weightlifter’s inclusion in New Zealand’s Olympic team has generated debate about transgender athletes and sport. But it has led also to a global conversation about how we design our systems to be safe and inclusive, for everyone, writes Laura Walters.Kiwi weightlifter Laurel Hubbard is making global headlines after ...7 hours ago
- We, the children of Centrepoint, are breaking through the silenceAs Centrepoint once again becomes a focus of media attention, Dr Caroline Ansley, a survivor of the North Shore commune, asks why the work of grappling with its legacy continues to fall on those who suffered. The most recent cover article of North & South left a greasy, nauseated feeling in ...7 hours ago
- Wake up ministers – Covid doesn't sleep
‘Go hard and go early’ has been a winning formula against Covid-19. But as the virus rears its head again, some mistakes are being made too many times, writes political editor Jo Moir. Journalists are familiar with the expression ‘news knows no time’. The biggest stories and tips often come ...7 hours ago - Wake up ministers – Covid doesn't sleepAs Covid-19 rears its head again, some mistakes are being made too many times, ...7 hours ago
- Job market swings in favour of workers, with record listings
Job seekers are gaining power as closed borders shut migrants out of the employment market ...7 hours ago - Is the America's Cup price really too high?
There's a reason why governments for the past 30 years have funded and basked in national sports successes, writes Peter Dunne, and that's why the America's Cup won't necessarily end up offshore. ...7 hours ago - $5K Surrey-Newsroom writers residency open
Announcing the 2021 Surrey Hotel-Newsroom writers residency Calling all writers wanting the rare chance to sit down in privacy and comfort to work on their latest masterpiece. Applications open today, as of now, this very second, for the prestigious 2021 Surrey Hotel-Newsroom writers residency - with an added bonus of ...7 hours ago - China, Australia and NZ: 'Anxiety and a sense of danger'
Who is to blame for tensions between the Asian superpower and our neighbours, and what does it mean for us? ...7 hours ago - Covid infections in Fiji soar with record 279 cases – four deathsBy Timoci Vula in Suva Fiji has reported its highest daily total of positive covid-19 infections with 279 cases reported as of 8am today as the outbreak continues to soar. The ministry has also reported four deaths attributed to the virus. Health Secretary Dr James Fong announced these figures in ...13 hours ago
- NZ’s capital moves to covid alert level 2 after Sydney tourist scareRNZ News The Wellington region moved to alert level 2 at 6pm today after an Australian tourist who visited the New Zealand capital on the weekend tested positive for covid-19 on his return to Sydney. Wellington, Wairarapa and Kāpiti Coast are now at alert level 2 until 11.59pm on Sunday ...13 hours ago
- Fiji records two covid deaths amid record 180 new casesBy Lice Movono, RNZ Pacific correspondent in Suva Fiji’s covid19 case count broke records again yesterday as medical authorities recorded another two deaths at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWM) in the capital Suva. Two men, a 68-year-old and a 42-year-old are the latest certified covid deaths. The CWM Hospital ...13 hours ago
- Bridging visas for three months granted to Tamil familySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Three members of the Biloela Tamil family have been given bridging visas for three months, which will allow the parents work and study rights. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has granted the visas to Nades and ...13 hours ago
- Politics with Michelle Grattan: Sussan Ley and Terri Butler on the Great Barrier Reef being ‘in da...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government’s response to the UNESCO recommendation that the Great Barrier Reef be listed as “in danger” was one of surprise and shock. The recommendation will be considered at UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee meeting next ...15 hours ago
- Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Excess Deaths by Age Cohort: New Zealand and comparator countriesAnalysis by Keith Rankin. New Zealand, concerns for all age groups. Chart by Keith Rankin. The international source for these data calculates the percentage increase (decrease if negative) of deaths compared to ‘expected deaths’. There is a weakness in the data, in that ‘expected deaths’ is simply the average for ...15 hours ago
- Vessels in international waters: Agencies to gain powers to stop, search, detainParliament has introduced a bill that gives agencies powers to stop any suspected serious criminal offending on ships in international waters. ...17 hours ago
- Siouxsie Wiles: Why the Covid-19 delta strain’s weekend in Wellington is so seriousHow did we get here, why is the alert level change necessary, and could this all have been avoided?After several scares, it’s finally actually happened. The uber-infectious delta variant of Covid-19 has hitched a ride to Aotearoa. It’s come via a visitor from Sydney who took advantage of the trans-Tasman ...19 hours ago
- Eight incredible moments from the new series of MatangireiaHeartbreak, scandal and intrigue are never far away in the new conversations with former Māori MPs. Leonie Hayden points to the highlights. Maybe it’s only ever possible to see the true humanity of politicians once they’ve left politics. Take away the campaigning, the party lines, the spin and the relentlessness of ...19 hours ago
- Who is Wellington’s Next Top Mould-el?Wellington’s most mouldy flat is finally getting the recognition it deserves. A City for People shares the grand prize winner of Wellington’s Next Top Mould-el, plus spot prizes. Mushrooms, perma-soggy floors, and mummified rats: the biodiversity of our capital city’s “character”-filled rental homes has been flooding the inbox of A City ...20 hours ago
- Charting New Zealand's vaccine rollout
How many people have been vaccinated in New Zealand? How does that stack up with the rest of the world? Newsroom presents a weekly dashboard of everything you need to know about our country's vaccine rollout. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var e in a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.getElementById("datawrapper-chart-"+e)||document.querySelector("iframe[src*='"+e+"']");t&&(t.style.height=a.data["datawrapper-height"][e]+"px")}}))}(); In the past week, New Zealand ...20 hours ago - The case for a Tasmanian AFL team, from an economist’s point of viewSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney No one did a cost-benefit analysis before accepting Tasmania into the Commonwealth. Should the Australian Football League do the same? Tasmanians have pushed for their own AFL team since the 1980s, ...21 hours ago
- What is the ‘unified protocol’ for PTSD? And how can it help?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Berle, Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology, University of Technology Sydney ChameleonsEye/www.shutterstock.com Many of us experience at least one potentially traumatic event in our lifetime. These can include accidents, natural disasters, exposure to war and combat, or physical and sexual ...21 hours ago
- A lone tree makes it easier for birds and bees to navigate farmland, like a stepping stone between h...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carla Archibald, Research Fellow, Conservation Science, Deakin University Shutterstock Vast, treeless paddocks and fields can be dangerous for wildlife, who encounter them as “roadblocks” between natural areas nearby. But our new research found even one lone tree in an otherwise ...21 hours ago
- What is COVAX-19, the most advanced of Australia’s remaining local COVID vaccine candidates?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Griffin, Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The University of Queensland David Mariuz/AAP Australia’s current crop of COVID-19 vaccines consists of a shot by American biotechnology company Pfizer, which we import, and the vaccine by British-Swedish multinational AstraZeneca, the ...21 hours ago
- Seymour nettles the PM with questions about EVs, “feebate”, the Auckland cycle bridge and the di...
Parliament, mostly a humdrum affair these days, nevertheless has moments which fascinate long-time aficinados. One such moment came at Question Time yesterday when ACT’s David Seymour was probing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern over the “feebate” scheme which the government is introducing to accelerate the introduction of EVs. The Prime Minister ...22 hours ago - Bus Operator Surprised At Rejection Of Latest Pay OfferNZ Bus says it is surprised at the rejection of its latest pay offer to Wellington bus drivers. The revised offer was developed with help from Greater Wellington Regional Council and recommended to drivers by the Tramways Union. “The decision is a surprise ...22 hours ago
- Maniapoto Deed Of Settlement Ready For Iwi RatificationThe Maniapoto Māori Trust Board (MMTB) have reached the final step in resolving their historical Treaty of Waitangi claims. Maniapoto whānau are now encouraged to support the process by voting on and accepting the Maniapoto Deed of Settlement ...22 hours ago
- Why New Zealand is more vulnerable to a new COVID-19 outbreak than ever beforeSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Hobbs, Senior Lecturer in Public Health, University of Canterbury Sydney’s community outbreak of COVID-19 has been dominated by the delta variant. Bai Xuefei/Xinhua via Getty Images Health authorities have raised the COVID-19 alert to level 2 for Wellington, from 6pm today ...22 hours ago
- Newsroom challenges Crown lawyers' conduct
Papers filed with the district court reveal Newsroom’s arguments against a charge of breaching the Family Court Act. David Williams reports Newsroom’s written court submissions throw light on police and Crown Law behaviour the news website’s lawyer maintains is unfair and, perhaps, predetermined. Yesterday, Newsroom appeared in the Christchurch District ...22 hours ago - After 71 years, we must end the Korean War – and NZ has a role to playIt’s easy to forget the Korean War never ended. As the armistice anniversary approaches, New Zealand must lend its weight to help end the on-going stalemate, writes Rebekah Jaung. Just past the Parnell Rose Gardens, lies the Auckland Korean War Memorial Rock. A giant slab of Korean stone, engraved with the ...23 hours ago
- Woods protects taxpayers from oil and gas decommissioning costs – but she invites applications to ...
One Beehive announcement from Megan Woods steers the public to around $1 billion sloshing around in a $3.8 billion trough in her Housing bailiwick by announcing eligibility criteria. Partnership with Maori will be helpful for those who are keen to line up for a slice of the action. Another announcement ...23 hours ago - NZ-US Trade Flows Show Impact Of COVID-19 But Underlying ResilienceNZUS Council executive director, Jordan Small said today the latest quarterly data on New Zealand’s trade with the United States looks bad but underneath the headline number is resilience in high value exports that bodes well for a future beyond the ...23 hours ago
- The Antarctic Treaty is turning 60 years old. In a changed world, is it still fit for purpose?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Donald Rothwell, Professor of International Law, Australian National University AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION/PR Handout The 1959 Antarctic Treaty celebrates its 60th anniversary today. Negotiated during the middle of the Cold War by 12 countries with Antarctic interests, it remains the only ...24 hours ago
- Kura Forrester relives the horror of being the Eagle Boys mascotThe comedian and actor tells us about her actual first appearance on Shortland Street, first job and more in the latest episode of FIRST.Kura Forrester was living in London and working as a waitress when a friend invited her to watch an open mic night. “It was kind of inspiring,” ...1 day ago
- Amid a labour shortage, here’s how businesses could hire more refugees — and gain a strategic ad...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeannie Eun Su Lee, Lecturer, University of Newcastle Shutterstock Australia is in the grip of a labour shortage, as pandemic border closures stem the flow of workers from other countries. At the same time, Australia has an untapped talent pool ...1 day ago
- Feedback Sought On Fisheries Catch LimitsFisheries New Zealand is inviting people to have their say on proposed changes to catch limits and other settings across a range of fisheries for the new fishing year, beginning 1 October. “The consultation is part of a regular cycle of reviews that ...1 day ago
- Australians are not aware news outlets are in financial trouble: new reportSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caroline Fisher, Co-author of the Digital News Report: Australia 2020, Deputy Director of the News and Media Research Centre, and Associate Professor of Journalism, University of Canberra Shutterstock During the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 150 Australian news outlets have contracted, ...1 day ago
- Collins dismisses review idea, says Little responsible for slow mental health spendNational Party leader Judith Collins says the Health Minister is responsible for the slow roll-out of a $1.9 billion investment in mental health services and that a review into the matter isn't necessary. ...1 day ago
- Nau Mai Rā Petition Power Generators And Government To End Power PovertyKaupapa Māori power retailer Nau Mai Rā has launched a petition imploring power generators and Government to work together in providing better electricity outcomes for vulnerable communities. In two weeks, the petition has gained over 3,000 signatures. ...1 day ago
- Former National Party leader Todd Muller to retire at next electionThe former National Party leader has decided to step down at the next election. ...1 day ago
- Parliamentary Services Should Call 105 Over Missing TelevisionThe alleged use of taxpayer funds to purchase a television which ended up in a National MP’s home is a criminal matter, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesperson Jordan Williams says, “Using a work account to buy a television for ...1 day ago
- 'Unbridled' NZ housing speculation attacked by UN representative
As the Government revealed details of a housing infrastructure fund, a UN watchdog took aim at the country's overpriced, substandard housing stock and a culture of asset speculation which has taken root A United Nations representative has taken aim at unbridled housing speculation in New Zealand and the "astronomical" amount being ...1 day ago - Big Tobacco Exploit Dairy Owners In Cynical Attempt To Derail Smokefree PolicyLate yesterday afternoon, Hāpai Te Hauora sent a tweet in response to NZ Herald’s article: Revealed: Big Tobacco behind dairy owners postcard protest at Parliament . The response from Hāpai says "Disappointed - yet not surprised, that Big ...1 day ago
- Brown Optimism, by J.C. SturmIt is believed that Sturm wrote this poem between 1946 and 1948, in her 20s. It was likely published in a student newspaper and has just been rediscovered in a box of her old clippings. Read more about the poem and how it was found here. Brown OptimismWith dust of labour on ...1 day ago
- Today we publish a poem by J.C. Sturm that has been lost for 70 yearsSturm’s literary executor Paul Millar introduces the poem – and the poet. Read the poem ‘Brown Optimism’ in full here. If you think colonisation has been good for Māori, then at first glance Jacqueline Cecilia Sturm must seem like exhibit number one. Adopted from an impoverished iwi, Jacquie excelled in mainstream New ...1 day ago
- Union Says Poor Pay And Conditions To Blame For Skyrocketing ECE VacanciesEducation union NZEI Te Riu Roa says ECE centres are struggling to fill vacancies - and it's all down to the sector's low pay and poor conditions. For the first time since it began collecting data late last year, NZEI Te Riu Roa says ECE vacancies ...1 day ago
- UN Calls Attention To The Positive Role Of The Right To A Decent Home In Tackling New Zealand’s Ho...The housing crisis is a human rights crisis in New Zealand according to the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on adequate housing in a new report officially tabled over night at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Housing speculation, a lack ...1 day ago
- We shouldn’t blame young people for ‘jumping the queue’ to get a COVID vaccine. They could be ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Diego S. Silva, Lecturer, Sydney Health Ethics, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney Over recent weeks, we’ve seen reports some Australians under 40 who are not yet eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine have been getting their first dose. These are ...1 day ago
Big day tomorrow, Pike re-entry, heard it will be live streamed, has anyone else heard the same please?
Maybe next week, or next month, or next year or maybe never.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/112409587/pike-river-reentry-delayed-after-andrew-little-raises-safety-concerns
Alwyn making jokes of Government as a good National gatekeeper does.
Pathetic Alwyn you are.
Don't be so bloody stupid. Pathetic Cleangreen, that's what you are.
Have a look at my comment at 1.2.1.1
Cinny at 1, it will happen, but the oxygen levels were unexpectedly up, making it dangerous when there is methane. Delayed 'till they figure why. ( Alwyn is being Alwyn.)
I really hope there will be a livestream when it does happen.
"A wild animal chewing through a gas monitoring tube is one of several possibilities being investigated after the re-entry of the Pike River mine drift was halted. "
Alwyn, it would have never happened under the previous government. Will any nat MP's be there? How about maureen pugh, list MP from the Coast or simon bridges, maybe both of them will be there together….. if maureen and simon both show up then I wonder what questions the media would ask them…. lolololz
There isn't a chance in hell that they will actually get down the mine to the place where the miners were working.
I'll wager that the CoL has already drafted their announcement that they are going to abandon any attempt to do so.The whole exercise is a sorry farce.
" I'll wager that the CoL has already drafted their announcement that they are going to abandon any attempt to do so.The whole exercise is a sorry farce. "
Did you say wager Alwyn? I'm up for it.
3 month self imposed ban… how does that sound Alwyn?
Are you really sure you want to go down that path?
Look at what Andrew Little is saying this morning.
"But Little told The AM Show on Friday that if problems continue to arise and nothing can be done to make the re-entry safe, they may have to call quits on the operation.
"There will come a point where we say 'we have fulfilled our commitment to do everything possible and everything conceivable and safely, but we can't get there or we can't go any further'," he said."
He certainly looks as if he is plotting his retreat doesn't it?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/05/andrew-little-open-to-cancelling-pike-river-re-entry-if-progress-cannot-be-made-safely.html
Are you not confident enough to go down that path Alwyn?
Big day in the British Parliament yesterday as Britain became the first country in the world to declare a climate emergency. All due to Extinction Rebellion acting on the streets, Greta Thunberg's obstinate advocacy and Jeremy Corbyn taking the matter to Parliament.
"Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for the motion to “set off a wave of action from parliaments and governments around the globe”.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/climate-change-environment-emergency-commons-motion-mps-vote-latest-a8895456.html
God send the miners re-entry into the mine safely please; – and find the reasons that caused so many of our fine men were sent to their untimely death and find us justice.
"This proposal, which demonstrates the will of the House on the issue but does not legally compel the government to act, was approved without a vote." https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48126677
I've never heard of such a thing. Kind of like a policy statement from parliament, eh? Non-binding, but official due to May deciding not to oppose it.
“The Welsh and Scottish governments have both already declared a climate emergency, along with dozens of towns and cities, including Manchester and London.”
In NZ towns and areas declared themselves nuclear free as a statement. Was that done before or after government did so?
Before… from recollection grey. But that would have been because the previous Nat government under Muldoon refused to contemplate such a move.
Not dis-similar to the UK motion but in NZ it was a government motion not an opposition one.
Thanks. But all the same it is an interesting action of the regions imposing their own opinion on central government.
Brace yourself for… absolutely nothing to happen. Given our track record, until the skin is melting from our skulls, we'll just keep on making excuses. We're really good at that.
But her emails.
With clear evidence of a full-blown governance crisis with possible outright criminality on their hands, the only thing Repug senators want to do is try to divert to an irrelevant issue that was fully investigated long ago.
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/01/politics/barr-republicans-clinton/index.html
Let's recap where we're at:
The president currently in office had a campaign team that eagerly accepted and encouraged a foreign government's smear campaign against his opponent. Apparently the Special Counsel found insufficient evidence to show a chargeable conspiracy between the campaign and said foreign government. The campaign team appears to be off the hook through a combination of obstructing the investigation, and simple incompetence and laziness on the part of the campaign when it actually comes to a coordinated effort with outside parties.
The investigator presented his finding to the Attorney General. Let's remind ourselves here; although the AG is appointed by the prez (one of the subject of the investigation), the actual job is supposed to serving the interests of the people and the nation as a whole. But said AG blew off his actual job responsibilities, instead toeing right up to the line of personal criminal exposure to try to protect the prez by misleading Congress and the public about what the Special Counsel investigation found and concluded. And when presented with clear evidence of his deliberately misleading conduct, continues with his obfuscation.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/01/barr-hearing-mueller-report-1295274
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/william-barr-donald-trump-media-defense-obstruction-of-justice.html?via=homepage_recirc_recent
And for the real shocker, Barr apparently thinks it's just fine for a campaign to go along with and encourage all the foreign interference it can get. All long as it's for the benefit of his guy, of course.
https://www.vox.com/2019/5/1/18525716/william-barr-mueller-report-trump-tower-meeting
A bit of background here about Barr and how he traded his formerly widely respected reputation for a cheeto-tinged skidmark smeared down his CV.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/william-barr-reputation-mueller-report-trump_n_5cb9d96ae4b06605e3edfcdf
This is a great story. Happy. Such a precious thing.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/love-sex/112396406/husband-in-down-syndrome-couple-that-fought-courts-to-be-married-dies
Yesterday Andrea Vance reported this: "Stuff understands Climate Change Minister James Shaw and NZ First have negotiated a "split gas" target, which would see methane treated differently from other long-lived gases, like carbon." https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/112353042/methane-emissions-deal-kick-starts-climate-change-legislation
"Shaw said: "We have delayed release of reports to give Government time to consider the reports so that when they are released for public consultation people will have a clear idea of the Government's thinking around the recommendations."
"That's likely to mean the release of the reports, together with the Government's position, will happen in the next few weeks." No hurry, due to climate change not being seen as an emergency, obviously!
"NZ First was worried its farming base would be unfairly disadvantaged by ambitious targets. It's understood the party's chief of staff Jon Johansson played an instrumental role in the compromise."
"Jon Johansson is a New Zealand political scientist and the current chief of staff for New Zealand First. His academic specialities are New Zealand and American politics, as well as political leadership. He lectured these subjects at Victoria University." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Johansson
"His PhD dissertation "seeks to extend our theoretical understanding of political leadership by constructing an Integrated Political Leadership Model, one that introduces a diverse range of essential leadership ideas into the New Zealand literature." … In 2009, he spent the fall semester in Washington, D.C. as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar to Georgetown University."
Media savvy from his many appearances on current affairs shows, combined with his focus on leadership in deep academic context, makes him an adept insightful operator. No wonder NZF has surprised folks with their coalition performance.
Interesting DF. Where is the authority, the dource of the advice behind the voices of the various Parties?
For National it is probably Crosby-Textor plus bank economists and the like, The NZ Initiative and so on. Labour? Who do they listen and learn from?
I was thinking recently about the business model of a big company buying up and swallowing another. Often they will buy a well-known brand, keep turning out product as usual, but lessen input of quality, from personnel to ingredients. The customers may keep on buying in a routine response but the product eventually is a shadow of its past, and is then sold on volume competing with cheap ingredients with others still attempting quality at a higher price. Griffins biscuits is a bit like this. Sold to the USA in the 1960s it still has a NZ atmosphere floating round the familiar biscuits that are carefully engineered to seem the same. Cadburys was made in NZ to certain standards. The buying company are still marketing Roses chocs but not a patch on what was made previously.
These are two examples that we are familiar with. There will be more. Worst of all is the example of this country. We had a good name in so many of our features when we had governments that strove to find a way forward for us. Then the financial world offered Labour a free pass; stop worrying and trying to make decisions, thinking for the people, leave it to the market which expresses the will of the people and you can't go wrong.
Government in hand with private enterprise, market NZ as a 'wonderland' overseas and we wonder how they can get away with selling a facade. At its best it comes down to a relativity level; the others are so bad, we are told, that our claims are only slightly questionable. And they even reflect this image back on us who goggle in a dazed fashion at the bright images that supposedly show us our own country, which someone else must be able to recognise.
Now we can't get government to do anything until we are on the edge of the cliff, and even then they will hold tenders for private enterprise to sell us ropes and helicopters, for those who can afford them. How do you like being in the hands of the free market peeps? And all the while private enterprise from overseas comes in, uses the brand, then undercuts the local business till it falls like a proud tree which has been ringbarked.
Latest is the arable land that is being sold to property speculators. The produce growers can't make a decent living. Their difficult, physical work involves great expertise with delicate, living things, uncertain and explosive weather events, introduced insects and fungi etc, and then demanding contracts from supermarkets compounded by the demise of the auction system. That limits what they can afford to pay staff who possibly work anti-social hours starting at sparrowfart, gathering and packing produce to send fresh into stores that day. Supplying good fresh food for the wellbeing and health of the people. That's how things go in the free market. https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018693232/building-on-prime-growing-land
Under our old-style government that put limits and brakes on exploitation, tried to plan ahead for an orderly, practical, enterprising country, there was before the Resource Management Act a zoning system that ensured that good farming land stayed in farming; a thicket fence with thorns was erected to keep the predators at bay. Now they roam freely and like badly controlled dogs, leap and bite and destroy wellbeing in the polity. And it seems we are helpless against these masters and mistresses of the moment grabbing what they can for themselves, and being petted by the unthinking society for being 'wealth creators'.
Labour? Who do they listen and learn from?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Council_of_Trade_Unions
https://www.fabians.org.nz/
Re marketing, it's a cultural trend gone global, so no escape. I used the principle `know your enemy', starting 1976. Learnt all the other key aspects of capitalism too. Since it is rooted in human nature, best to comprehend it – part of how the world works. Plenty of excellent books providing deep insights…
"Shaw said: "We have delayed release of reports to give Government time to consider the reports so that when they are released for public consultation people will have a clear idea of the Government's thinking around the recommendations."
or…'how the hell are we going to spin this?'
Yes Cleangreen
May the re-entry into the Pike River Mine today be a humane and safe event. For, families wish to know how their fathers and sons, in detail, so dreadfully lost their lives.
Until very late in its sad governance National never had any interest or care for the Workers of New Zealand. Threadbare at best, no effective regulation was the active policy of Mr key, Mr English, Simon Bridges, Mrs Collins, Mrs Bennett.
It developed a care policy for the staff of Worm Farms. But no care for the hazadous Forestry Industry which has sent far too many bodies to the grave.
John Key – still found enough energy in his septic mind – to harass the families of the Miners – and the Weast Coast. Shocking.
National are a dismal, hateful and harmful group of Narcissists. Pike River is but one of their failures.
Simon Bridges has taken up the Role of National Bully. Having left our Hospitals as stink holes. He left our schools and education in the usual National piddle Muddle. He only ever praises himself. He is the child that never grew up.
Venezuela – Guaidó Got Snookered – White House Starts Beating War Drums
Moon of Alabama, May 1, 2019
Yesterday's failed coup attempt in Venezuela significantly hurt the Trump administration's international standing. It delegitimized its Venezuelan clients Juan Guaidó and Leopoldo López. After recognizing that their original 'regime change' plan failed (again) the White House starts to beat the war drums.
That wasn't the plan:
There is no official explanation why the Trump administration believed that the comical coup attempt by Juan Guaidó and his master Leopolo López would work.
There are signs though that the government of President Nicolas Maduro set a trap. Several people in the top echelon of the Venezuelan government gave false promises that they would join the U.S. proxy side. They snookered Guaidó into launching his coup to let him fail. ….
Read more….
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/05/venezuela-guaid%C3%B3-got-snookered-white-house-starts-beating-war-drums.html#more
Unless it was just the yankers sowing dissension and mistrust morsissey.
They're certainly giving it the full court press, Baggers. They'd turn Venezuela into Libya if they could.
But they can't.
The wargasim from some commentators over Venezuela is frightening.
But one thing is now clear, we now know who the white nationalist are on this site. Those promoting violence in Venezuela.
We all know what the dimwits on the site look like as well. They are like you. Making correlations without any backing evidence on the basis that others disagree with you.
Do that kind of flame war tactic again, and your handle will migrate permanently to "adam the dimwit".
That should assist in reminding you that the tactic is frowned on.
Spot on as usual Morrissey.
Would love to know what is going on behind the scenes between Russia, China and the USA.
The extradition of Julian Assange threatens all of us.
https://consortiumnews.com/2019/04/30/vips-extradition-of-julian-assange-threatens-us-all/
The message is clear, don't publish anything that will hurt the empire.
Oh joy!
"New Zealand is ranked 7th most popular bolthole for migrating "high net wealth" people.
The Global Wealth Migration Review 2019 tracking the migration of millionaires, multi-millionaires ($10m-$99.99m), centi-millionaires ($100m-$999.99m), and billionaires, says the flow of high net wealth individuals (HNWIs) into and out of a country is a good gauge of the health of an economy."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/112378465/global-report-ranks-new-zealand-as-7th-most-popular-bolthole-for-millionaires
The article goes on to list reasons why these individuals leave their own countries- "safety, pollution, schooling opportunities, tax, business opportunities, healthcare, oppressive governments, and religious tensions."
We are behind Australia in first place, the US, Canada, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the combined tax havens of the Caribbean (including Bermuda, The British Virgin Islands, St Barts, Antigua and St Kitts". We are ahead of "Singapore, Portugal, Israel ,Greece and Spain".
An interesting review. Our equality rating is still very high at 27%.
…"says the flow of high net wealth individuals (HNWIs) into and out of a country is a good gauge of the health of an economy."…
No, it really isn't.
Thanks for your opinion. Do you have evidence to support this opinion and the one you just posted at 10 below?
Go find it yourself…it is all readily available…
Your link to an opinion piece by some irrelevant stuff regurgitator …not evidence…
So, based on the link not being evidence in support of the cut paste…first you can substantiate the claim that NZ's rockstar economy is behind attracting wealthy people… and how the movements of wealthy people is an indicator of good economic health…
Bolt-hole does not equal good economic health indicator….there is a pointer for you…
…if you can adequately provide a sound starting point as evidence on the above…(not a stuff/NHZ link) which will not do at all…then we can move on with the discussion from there..
The link I posted gave access to the Review which I also named in my comment.
That Review is easily accessible to you. It has some 47 pages and is a document with some merit. I base my opinions upon that.
Fair enough mac1…
I do not agree that the movement of wealthy people of the nations they make use of for bolt holes is an indication of those economies so called good health…
So called wealth moves itself to where it can take advantage of favourable conditions to serve its own purposes…well understood as the fully rebuffed theory of trickle-down economics…
Wealthy people who have taken flight from nations which they have in many cases helped to hollow out…have plundered and benefited from personally, not only at the expense of their own nations…but at the expense of the nations they then seek to invade (such as NZ) … again taking advantage of lax laws and regulations which regular kiwis have not such position to utilize…
Setting up a bolt hole may or may not provide some short term injection into local economies…but again that is not an indicator of the health of an economy selected to leech off the back off buying access to because it is geographically expedient to do so…
NZ and indeed the global economy could economically implode…and still the wealth / wealthy would migrate to nations such as NZ …because…bolt hole…
The state of an economy would have no part to play in the decision…
Which is why I contested the statement you referenced in the original comment…because it is incorrect…
Which it is.
https://www.channelnews.com.au/900-satellites-to-deliver-low-cost-5g-right-across-australia/
Because OneWeb’s satellites are low orbiting they will be closer to the earth allowing for better web performance so that someone in the far North of Australia could watch a grand final in real time with no latency.
https://www.cnet.com/news/fcc-approves-spacex-plan-to-put-over-7000-satellites-in-orbit/
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved SpaceX's request to build, deploy and operate over 7,000 satellites in the very-low-Earth orbit. SpaceX will also have more frequency bands added to its previously authorized satellites…
The company's Starlink program is designed to use satellites at a much lower orbit to improve internet connectivity on the ground, even in rural and remote places with little to no internet access.
The approval on Thursday gives SpaceX flexibility to provide high-speed broadband coverage for more areas in the US and worldwide. The licenses also require that SpaceX's satellites be deployed within nine years.
No explanation or adequate engagement with the human populace, and not a single safety test exists for the technology which will beam digital data using frequencies and modulation never previously activated by nature throughout the entire story of human evolution…
Earths atmosphere is likely already irreparably damaged…for human biological purposes…
….No need to be concerned about further negative environmental impacts…
No comment on your content but the layout makes it hard to read. Don't use italics I think instead use the " marks in the menu of the comment editor and indent quotes – makes it so much easier to read in my opinion. Then your comments stand out because they are hard against the left margin. I also wouldn't bold very much. Only other thing is I put the link at the end – I suppose my marketing background means I want to hit em with the key point first up mostly – and then evidence it up and link. Anyway hope that helps.
Appreciate the feedback marty….thanks.
Also browser type, operating system and device type (tablet/laptop/desktop/mobile) will influence how any post appears to the reader…many variables involved…
That said, the top to bottom structure can be a thing for folks who don't read more than a headline plus a sentence or two…
Most often I read entire posts including the links…
The transmission power from these satellites will be very low. At the earths surface it will be about the same as cellphone towers.
That is logical. The supplier of these satellites basically wants to supplant the current terrestrial based cell phone transmission system. They want cellphone operators to migrate to their system for the complete world wide coverage that will be provided. No more dead spots.
So I can’t really see any adverse environmental effects, or at least no more than the current terrestrial cell phone system.
So I can’t really see any adverse environmental effects, or at least no more than the current terrestrial cell phone system.
To understand where the adverse environmental and biological effects already exist due to present day wireless technology, and will be amplified in the very near future…
…Implies an understanding of the technologies , how they function and what is required to enable the indented future use of the mmwv pulsed technology and the deployment of machine to machine orientated communications networks…and how that technology has absolutely no precedent in the evolution of this planet …or in the evolution of any species which has occurred due to perfection of environmental and atmospheric elements which enabled life to begin and evolve…
The transmission power from these satellites will be very low. At the earths surface it will be about the same as cellphone towers.
Hint: It is absolutely nothing to do with power levels… you have that completely wrong…
Is that your level of technical understanding on this subject?
No more dead spots … seriously ?
Would you like to have this conversation…open offer…
Or are you comfortable with your contribution to it?
Enlighten us on why a satellite based system will be harmful, that is more harmful than cell phone tower transmissions.
I didn't say that the satellites would or would not be more harmful than cell towers, Wayne (assuming you mean existing macro towers?)… and neither are the telco/tech companies involved… they do not know… as they have not performed any safety studies using the technology…not a single one…
What's documented is the environmental impact of land based microwave signals used in current technology of 2,3,4G LTE etc pulsed modulation…and the environmental and biological impacts of mmwv modulations at the higher frequencies required by envisaged furure use cases for next generation wireless communications networks…
There is no shortage of studies been undertaken since WW2 until present time…I've posted some over recent months, but a simple web search will locate them for you to read from…here are a few to get you started…
https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.03683
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29459303
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23051584
https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/7521097894.pdf
What is misleadingly called 5G is (as I am assuming in your case…certainly others on this site who are unaware) assumed to be simply be an upgrade to the existing microwave based networks…which is 100% incorrect…
5G is a complete transition away from the use of microwave modulating technologies, towards land, air and space based mmwv modulation… supported by infrastructure which is presently unused commercially outside of military grade crowd dispersal weaponry… (beamforming directed energy)…
The technology (infrastructure, modulation and frequencies) are untested commercially as admitted by the telco/tech companies themselves…
So infrastructure heavy are the required platforms that it is unfathomable in the climate critical time which we live in, that such damaging and intrusive technology is being deployed…
Although a rapidly increasing number of cities are putting moratoriums in place to halt the land based deployments…
Less harmful, as the better sight lines mean less transmitting power per area covered.
But then, there are the emissions, upper atmosphere pollution, from all those rocket launches.
First para is incorrect…technology is completely different between microwave and mmwv…both are environmentally and biologically harmful…
Power supply required for mmwv is far higher anyway…but that's another part of the discussion…
Second para is on the money…
Enjoying your trip through the looking glass?
Cripes Andre there may be more info in what One Two says than there is in your comments. Except yours are usually easier to read. But don't have a go at 1-2 for nothing. Save your satire up.
5G does sound concerning – I wonder about the whales and all the myriad of animals who don't develop technology as we do, they have it built in.
When it comes to electromagnetics and health issues, there's a long long history of nutters scaremongering and provoking a lot of expensive studies that conclusively demonstrate there is very very little to be concerned about.
The first one of these false alarms I ever looked into was the "cancer from living near powerlines". It was at least biologically plausible – extremely low frequency photons from 50Hz or 60Hz AC will penetrate all the way through the body, and it's at least plausible that very low frequencies will interfere with some biological processes. The scare was initiated by someone trying to explain clusters of cancers, so just drove around to the addresses of the victims in one city. And said aha, many of them are near probable sources of high EM fields from powerlines, so that must be it. However, careful study of much bigger datasets conclusively showed that to be a false association.
The next one that comes to mind is a cluster of testicular cancers in traffic cops in the eastern US in the early 90s. They'd be sitting in their cars with their radar guns in their laps, and guys being guys they'd be fondling them and occasionally triggering them. Basically they were nuking their nuts, they may as well having been plopping their packages in their home microwaves set on defrost, but without the hassle of closing the door. So when there was a cluster of testicular cancer, the question was obvious. But again, careful study over a much larger dataset showed that to be just a random statistical cluster.
From a biophysics point of view, cancer from a radar gun is much less plausible, because as frequency increases, penetration decreases. Radar guns operating at around 8GHz penetrate a few mm at best into flesh. Microwave ovens operate at about 2.5GHz (same as some WiFi). At GHz frequencies, the only biophysically plausible damage mechanism is simple heating.
You may have come across info about a crowd dispersal weapon operating in the high microwave band – a "heat ray" weapon. That operates at 95GHz, to induce very rapid heating at the skin surface only (where all the nerve endings are) to very quickly induce a burning sensation without actually heating deep enough to cause burning. But heat-ray weapons, and microwave ovens operate at vastly higher power levels than any communications devices, several orders of magnitude higher.
By far the most dangerous radiation most of us are exposed to is the UV component in sunlight, which actually is ionising radiation that causes chemical reactions and genetic damage. Followed by medical X-rays (I had a project making a medical device for heat surgeons doing ops on x-ray tables. Their rate of cancers above the neck are horrifying, they're absolute bloody heroes exposing themselves to that risk for the sake of helping others). Then possibly extra exposure to cosmic rays from flying, flight crews have significantly raised cancer risks for a bunch of cancers.
You do not even have elementary level understanding of the technologies involved…I’ve said it before…why do you even involve yourself in these conversations ?
By far the most dangerous radiation most of us are exposed to is the UV component in sunlight which actually is ionising radiation…
That statement is where you emphatically illustrate the level of dissonance you operate from on this subject…
Sunlight birthed every species which has ever existed past and present…including our own…it birthed all life sustaining ecosystems on this planet…
It has been proven that genetic damage results from ironising and non ironising resulting from the RF's of wireless networks that already exist today…so many studies that it is undeniable fact…yet you seek to deny…
What do you suppose might happen when orders of magnitude increases in the saturation levels of RF's at never before activated frequencies using known damage causing mmwv modulation…are deployed on land and in space….
I'll save you the response…you have NFI…yet are seemingly comfortable to wave away the concerns of those who do know (not referring to myself)…and give a figurative free pass to an entire industry that does not want to know…hence they are not performing any studies…
On this and the vaccine subject you are treading a line of illiteracy for which there must be an explanation…
Do you know what it is…or is it simply down to the nutters… you reckon are still those types who are raising concerns presently…
See, I don't believe you are as stupid as your comments state that you are, at face value…so there must be something else going on…
just… wow…
Are you going to throw in your opinion on 1080 to complete the set?
I'm still wading through your fourth link. Gotta say, that's one of the finer examples of pseudo-science woo-babble I've come across. In particular, it makes outstanding use of the technique of talking about established fact A to try to persuade the reader about completely unrelated assertion B.
But it gave me an actual fall-off-my-chair laughing out loud when it started going on about HAARP in the middle of a section about bee colony collapse disorder.
Andre
we are back in tin foil hat territory with our resident comedian. I had the flu shot today, my thinking has become blurred so maybe I am developing autism ?
Maybe a Deepak Chopra book for our friend ?
That response is another example of your level, Andre…
it ties perfectly in with what you believe regarding nutters , when in fact they are anything but…
Stick to Gorski, Andre…it's an appropriate match with your enjoyment of name calling and use of the term pseudoscience…which you repetitively show that you do not understand how to use the word…
That you responded with only a reference to HAARP…you felt compelled to disrupt the wading to comment… because you came across that technology being referenced in the document…
That it is the primary take away for you at this point…because you are not able to argue the content of the document…as it is beyond your willingness…not your capability…your willingness to grasp…
The question is…why are you seemingly so unwilling …what is the underlying barrier?
Edit: Do you consider the below people to be nutters ?
Published by Prof. Dr. med. Karl Hecht, Dr. med. Markus Kern, Prof. Dr. phil. Karl Richter, and Dr. med. Hans-Christoph Scheine
Advisory Board:
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Klaus Buchner
Prof. Dr. med. Rainer Frentzel-Beyme
Dr. rer. nat. Lebrecht von Klitzing
Prof. Dr. phil. Jochen Schmidt
Prof. Dr. jur. Erich Schöndorf
Dr. rer. nat. Ulrich Warnke
Prof. Dr. med. Guido Zimmer
3.9.1 HAARP changes the natural diurnal variation of the magnetic fields
The information on the HAARP project is thanks to Guy Cramer (USA); it was made available to me by Joris Everaert (Belgium).
HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Project) is the abbreviation for a military project of the US Air Force and Navy. 180 towers have been erected in an uninhabited area near the city of Gakona in Alaska, together constituting an antenna complex.
The frequency is around 2.5-10 MHz and the power is extremely high at 3 million Watt ("high power, high frequency phased array radio transmitter”).
This is the strongest technical transmitter on earth. Its effectiveness is increased by linking the antenna array with another antenna array in Alaska, via HIPAS (High Power Auroral Stimulation). The transmitters communicate with submarines deep in the ocean and scan the horizon as a type of deep earth radar.
But the frequencies are also absorbed by the ionosphere. They heat up certain layers, creating ion turbulences by day, that are modulated onto the earth magnetic field as unnatural magnetic fields.
This masks the regular effects the sun has on the ionosphere. As such, the bees lose an orientation that served them for millions of years as a reliable indicator of the time of day encoded in the regular variations of the magnetic field changes as the sunrises and the ionosphere temperature rises.
The effects of the HAARP transmitter activity should be further investigated especially in Canada, the USA and Europe. Since the disappearance of the bees was first documented in precisely these countries, a causal relationship can no longer be excluded.
The following simultaneous events tend to confirm this: In 2006, the increase of the transmitting power from 960 000 Watt to four times that power (3 600000 Watt), was approved for the first time.
Exactly in this year, reports originated in all the "scanned" transmission regions of the disrupted homing ability of bees.
Another disruptive effect may play a role. Through the irregular heating of the ionosphere, the air at great heights begins to “glow”, with visible frequencies in the near infrared region (630nm) and the associated magnetic field can be detected at the earth’s surface
(PEDERSEN et al. 2003, RODRIGUEZ et
al. 1998). Since the bees use not only the UV component of sunlight for orientation, but also the longer infrared wave-lengths (EDRICH et al. 1979, VAN DER GLAS 1977) the new light in the sky may also be a new disrupting stimulus to them.
What was it from this section of the document, as it postulated, including citations around bee colony collapse… which made you fall off your chair laughing?
Be specific…
Well, HAARP is such a magnet for conspiracy nutters that someone invoking it in an article clearly designed to appeal to conspiracy nutters is just too funny.
There's a wide range of experiments done at HAARP, and it's utterly improbable that all of these different experiments are going to have the same effect on bees thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometres away. Any weirdness in infrared or other light is going to be a local effect geographically limited to a very small line-of-sight area around the array and time-limited to while that particular experiment is being conducted.
While 3MW of power going into an antenna array sounds like a lot, it's as nothing compared to the natural electromagnetic processes going on all the time in the atmosphere. The author even alludes to a few of these other vastly more powerful processes.
It's also really funny that there's much more powerful antenna arrays elsewhere that do similar experiments, but for some reason don't attract the attention of conspiracy nutters.
Let alone that there’s so many other obvious well documented stressors we’re putting on bees that trying to invoke something as far-fetched as HAARP that has zero plausible linkage is just ludicrous. Let alone the absurdity of doing that in the midst of trying to make an argument against the EM waves we’re using for modern communications.
The first paragraph was all you needed to write , Andre…it's what you believe…it is who you are through the comments you write…like the dickhead flow chart…but you don't seem to self recognize…
The document , publishers, advisory board, the research contained including citations are beyond you…
It is beyond your self limiting contraints to allow information which exposes you to yourself…so you're attracted to the vile banality of sites such as Gorski…they appeal to you in unhealthy ways…
And yet you don't recognize it.
Utterly improbable…
Is about as close to scientific as your comments get…
So I'll ask you again..are they nutters ?
Published by Prof. Dr. med. Karl Hecht, Dr. med. Markus Kern, Prof. Dr. phil. Karl Richter, and Dr. med. Hans-Christoph Scheine
Advisory Board:
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Klaus Buchner
Prof. Dr. med. Rainer Frentzel-Beyme
Dr. rer. nat. Lebrecht von Klitzing
Prof. Dr. phil. Jochen Schmidt
Prof. Dr. jur. Erich Schöndorf
Dr. rer. nat. Ulrich Warnke
Prof. Dr. med. Guido Zimmer
Or if you want another example of the woo-babble in that piece, have a look at the nonsense about birds flying in formation.
It is indeed quite probable that birds in flight develop electric fields around them. From friction with air and just the electric field that always exists above ground anyway. But then the author goes on to make the completely evidence-free assertion that birds detect and use these electric fields to maintain formation. Somehow this evidence-free assertion appears intended to reinforce an argument against humans using EM waves for communication.
But it is well-established that birds fly in a v-formation so the trailing birds can take advantage of some free lift caused by trailing vortices from the bird in front and thereby save energy.
Now, what's more probable? That birds can detect aerodynamic forces through their feathers and wings and adjust and optimise their position in response to the forces they feel (as they need to do in every flying situation, not just a v-formation), or that they somehow develop an additional redundant woo-sense for electric fields that's only useful in v-formation (and is going to be wildly variable depending on atmospheric moisture).
…quite probable…
…what's more probable…
That your musings are less credible than the data contained within the document…And the credibility of those involved in its production…
That's what's more probable..
Continue reading Gorski…no need to guess why his writing style appeals to you…
Buwaaaahahahaha!
Leaving aside the merits of arguing from authority, if you think arguing from authority is a valid thing to do, the first authority to check out is the actual author of the piece. Ulrich Warnke.
Seems to be this dude. Here's what he has to say about himself:
New age bullshit at its absolute finest.
http://circularsociety.com/index.php/team/ulrich-warnke/
Buwaaaahahahaha!
You're a grown man, Andre…not a child…
The question was..are they nutters…
You've not answered…but ever true to Gorskis tactics…pull up anything you can find…misinterpret it…due to extreme predjudice…use term such as new age…as if that's actually derogatory…it's not…
As for what you quoted from…you clearly don't understand it…so you ridicule it with an infantile laugh…and another incorrectly used terminology…
As if that somehow invalidates the paper…not only does your ape'd tactic not invalidate the paper, contents or publishers…
It does not give you peace of mind within yourself…
I'm replying to yet the latest example of your failed attempt to self sooth..
You'll need a better pacifier to suck on…
cf:
There's your answer.
Nope. That's not the answer…
Nor was it your question to answer…
But you jumped in anyway and wedgied yourself in process…
You little guys…so committed to eachother…
It's a funny thread.
Everyone's just basking in the reflected glory of your ironising radiation.
The irony is that I've starched to be board.
Everyone's just basking in the reflected glory of your ironising radiation.
Please don't! Black Sabbath wrote "Iron Man" about a man who spent too long exposed to ironising radiation – it's a terrible fate.
“ironising and non ironising”
What physics are your referring to?
“genetic damage”
What biology are you referring to?
You're not interested…remember that comment you made…
If you are…look it up for yourself…
Not feeling very helpful today?
I did look it up and got nothing!
I have never heard of ironising or non-ironising with regard to genetic damage (presumably DNA damage). I’m sure you will point out the obvious gaps in my education, knowledge, and understanding and direct me to Google. However, I ask again, what are you referring to?
I appreciate your articles and the comments you post…
I also knew that despite your claims, and feigning loss of interest…because of my comments no less…that you would still be interested…
As I said in the same exchange…I'm not a teacher…
But I'm sure you'll figure out how to locate the articles about dna damage from NIR…
There was a large scale one commissioned by the industry regulators…which was met by the sounds of crickets when it was published…sidelined and dismissed…
There is no shortage of studies and articles..
No, you seem to misunderstand my question. It is quite simple:
What are you referring to with “ironising or non-ironising”?
I went to PubMed and got zilch (i.e. nothing)!?
Oh, and the whales, well they're at enormous risk from getting run over by ships, murdered by various human tribes, swallowing plastic, getting their entire sensory systems fucked by seismic testing and sonar and general marine traffic noise, poisoned by accumulating various toxins since they're way up in the food chain.
But when they are underwater it's completely implausible that they're in any way affected by the various electromagnetic radiations we throw around to communicate. Because salt water is very conductive so the waves just don't penetrate. (Not gonna get into how to communicate to submarines)
Those attending funerals for multiple family members in car accidents could remember them specially in a little ritual for themselves all their lives. There could be a family member at the ceremony who calls for all to never forget those who have died, and to remember them as they buckle up their seat belt each time they get into a car. It would be appropriate, to ensure remembrance and care for others after the sad event of the crash, that shows love for the lost family members and guides the still living.
28 April – https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/388243/taupo-crash-thousands-expected-at-tangi-for-seven-family-members
It has not been advised that not wearing seat belts was the reason for such an horrific toll from this crash, but it seems similar to the crash a month ago in which five people died, that I have linked to below.
1 April – Taupō fatal crash: police give details of investigation -"Unfortunately people were not wearing their seat belts in the vehicle and that has led to the deaths," Mr Troy told Morning Report.The family was in a five-seater vehicle and the 11-year-old was believed to have been in the back seat with three other young people.
"…when people are not restrained, or items are not restrained in a vehicle, when you have a crash, those items become missiles and they do all go forward." https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/386123/taupo-fatal-crash-police-give-details-of-investigation
Yes Morrissey !
Assange' female staff will get a break from Julian's bare back activities.
He has managed things quite well to his way of thinking:
1) An Extradition from The Ecuador Embassy UK
2) An Extradition into Her Majesty's renowned Justice system of the United Kingdom for playing fast and loose with his various summons.
3) A possible Extradition to Sweden who summed him up as a bit of a nuisance and a sour, dangerous sex beast.
4) Yet to happen, but a very likely Extradition to The United States of America. Where he may meet the Charming Chelsea. This Lass is amazing. She steals Information about America going to War(s). Then she publicises that while they are doing war, they actually do War which invovles nasty pain.
It is very wrong to do War- when you are at War according to the likes of people who don't understand what War is.. Even Assange gets this wrong. Tch Tch Tch. When America puts up a Notice declaring it is going to do a War, it is best to believe it. Same with the UK. Same with women who claim they have been raped – and have been.
5) Assange, after a number of years might be Extradited to Northern Australia – from whence he came, and also where his appearant hacking and stuff began. He could be Sub Extradited to one of John Howard's and Tony Abbott's off shore Islands for untold years as punishment for theft from an Australian Allie – Namely: the USA. Those Islands are hell Holes.
Avoid Them !
Morrissey was at 8 – pity you didn't press reply button and put your tasteless comment there OT.
Saving for a house? You may be in the wrong profession, place or century.
Lists of cities with most billionaires (according to chart which was different from other figures from same source!)
New York in 2014 tops with 103; then Hong Kong 93
San Fransisco 74; then Moscow 69; London 62.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_number_of_billionaires
List of wealthiest families in the world. NZ isn't on this list of billionaires, but Australia has a few.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wealthiest_families
Historical
Further information: List of banking families
Excluding royal dynasties and land-owning aristocracy, the wealthiest families since the emergence of banking and early capitalism in the Italian Renaissance were:[citation needed]
I have heard of the Du Ponts, the Rockefellers, the
Du Pont $14 billion https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/070116/top-25-richest-american-families.asp
Rockefeller $318 billion (You read that right: John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil, was over three times richer than Bill Gates is today.) https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/how-rich-is-the-rockefeller-family-today
The Todd family would qualify if the list was accurate. There net wealth would be, if NBR have any skill at all, about $2.4 billion US dollars.
http://www.sharechat.co.nz/article/a1e600ea/hart-retains-top-spot-in-nbr-rich-list-followed-by-newcomer-thiel.html
Lists of family wealth are pretty silly of course. After all why don't you include the Gates' family? Bill, Melinda and their kids would certainly qualify as a family.
I'll tell you a wee story about the Todds, alwyn.
Back in the 1990s, a close friend of one of my family members (she was a former IHC pre-school teacher) agreed to baby-sit the Down Syndrome child of one of the Todd sisters. She expected to be paid the going rate … though held out at least a faint hope that she might even receive a little more … given the extraordinary wealth of the Todd Family.
Guess what the Todd sister paid her ? … a stalk of silverbeet.
But it gets worse … it wasn't just any stalk of silverbeet … it was an extremely elderly stalk of silverbeet … one that had clearly gone well past its prime.
That's how the family became mega-wealthy in the first place, I guess.
You can tell any story you like. People are fond of fantasies.
Shall I tell you a tale about one of the leading figures in the current Government? Stole my XXXX from the car when I gave XXX a lift home after XXX had an accident and killed a pedestrian while driving drunk.
You don't believe it? Why not? There is at least as much evidence for it as there is your bullshit tale.
Not in the habit of making up bullshit, alwyn. True story. It amused us when she told us at the time and, in retrospect, she found it amusing herself, albeit a little jaw-dropping. She knew the Todd sister through looking after her down syndrome child in the past. (Quite frankly, what on earth would be the point in concocting such a tale ?). The fact that it upsets you to the extent you've had this visceral reaction is … well … just a little bizarre. Is it that you idolize the very wealthy ?
"if the list was accurate"
It's wikipedia – feel free to add them yourself.
Hello all!
How are your fundamentals?
Sincerely hoping you've all got a positive sentiment going forward on the back of recent political developments and that we can all raise social confidence before the next erection in 18 months time. There's also a Well-being Budjit imminent with many hoping for transformation.
(Oh how we have fallen over the past three decades – secure your undercarriages – just in case. The cistern has well and truly been broken and even Twyford's are struggling to fic it)
Apologies ……. just been listening to the latest BizzNews and WhurlWatch on RNZ Neshnool
OWT – I'm currently engaged in deepening the strategic focus of my fundamentals. Ongoing client engagement initiatives are empowering my discovery of alternative perspectives across the lifecycle of service delivery actualites. Some interesting process improvement concepts promise a quantum change in customer experience expressed via actionable data points going forward.
I hope you are as excited as I am. (I know you will be)
Now that's real power talk! Even if i can't understand it it appeals to my cringing set of prejudices which preponderate to intellectual verbiage. And it probably has the same affect on those at meetings who don't like to declare their ignorance of the actual meaning, and as the wording makes them feel inferior and under-educated and unable to understand it, will vote for anything that the person most obscure puts forward.
I hadn't thought of that possibility, but know that it is quite hard to keep saying 'I don't understand that or what you said before either'; and be the only one to do so. Makes one stand out all a-lonely.
Indeed I am @ AB.
I'm currently pivoting towards a better life myself having constructed a platform which, like you will enable me to better consider all perspectives.
Hopefully it'll become best practice among all who've managed to grasp, and fully understand their fundamentals
Your proactive adoption of a "we"-based paradigm speaks to a fully engaged appreciation of the complexities involved in achieving vertical actualisation within dynamic environments.
digital.
It's possible we might need to have a conversation some time @McFlock.
As the Prime Minister just said (if I'm not mistaken as I watch One News),it maybe we have some resonations in common, and I’m sure there could be some mutually beneficial learnings going forward.
I've been worrying all day about what to eat this evening. Problem solved – I'll whip up a nice rhubarb pie
erection?
I am sure that many politicos do not get those….
(continues the tasteless theme)
Perhaps the word was eruptions. Like in measles. (We seem to have plenty of those.)
Oh man – I missed the flat earth conference!
That would have been great fun
JS More detail please. These drive-by mouthings leave one feeling very flat.
Was Mark Sergeant there?
don't know but I love his glasses and bow tie.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/112294771/flat-earthers-hold-conference-in-auckland-with-speakers-from-around-the-globe
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/04/ninety-percent-of-our-membership-is-in-the-closet-flat-earthers-in-their-own-words.html
There was much merriment in this household when they were on tv news the other night.
It does bear repeating that they have nothing to fair but sphere itself.
He said guffawing and slapping his thigh…
I have always found an explanation in this book, Hope this is good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JARn16yojbQ
There, there. There, there.
Message to a Criminal from the People of Venezuela
https://dxczjjuegupb.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Trump-not-today.jpg
Careful where you tread …
At the risk of upsetting the deeply August Greywarshark, I mention that The Pike River Recovery will not happen tomorrow.
There is an unusual amount of Oxygen within a part of the Drift area. For safety reasons entry will be withheld until the problem has been investigated and made safe.
It is a setback for the hopeful Families. But the Recovery Project will proceed when and as it can. For this is a test of safety first. Not alone for this Mine, but for all dangerous Work Areas, wherever they maybe.
I understood that we are in May OT, not in August! The peace of God which surpasses all understanding I give to you.
"which passeth all understanding", please…
I am now a sour old atheist, but I hate the language of old bible and prayer services being utterly mangled by artless modernisation.
It's not my fault I got it off google.
You prefer the King James, modernisation?
With the NZ Treasury Secretary resigning to head the Irish Reserve Bank, our Minister of Finance has a great opportunity to shift some key personnel within Treasury. Usually when each Chief goes, there's a chance to restructure all the Tier 2's as well.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1905/S00010/gabriel-makhlouf-to-be-new-central-bank-of-ireland-governor.htm
Let's see if Mr Robertson can do better than round up the usual suspects, and actually start to tilt Treasury far clearer and stronger than the piss-weak reforms he generated over the Reserve Bank .
[Held up in moderation because of slightly differently spelled e-mail address – Incognito]
The four horses of the [neo-liberal market driven] apocalypse
https://metro.co.uk/2019/04/30/a-second-great-depression-is-coming-and-recession-99-9-likely-in-two-years-9336944/?fbclid=IwAR0apzJJItNDivousIkz7IctPK7aZruvsZDvXT8aF-ELNdrmJLJ8ZrOqpU0
And it is also only a matter of time before the housing bubble bursts and we have to start demolishing all the newly built, but unsold homes, to keep prices up to 'stabilise the market'. As they did in California and Ireland and Spain.
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute
Its going to take a decade to build enough house for te tangata
The wealthy live in a rose tinted glass bubble they cannot see inequality as a huge problem.
1 they don't want to admit the system that gave them their wealth is fucked up.
2 To much wealth gives them a superiority complex they believe that it's OK to have more money than 100 people need in a lifetime while we have tangata dieing under the bridge an in 3 world nations tamariki dieing of starvation .
What's so wrong with the coloured tangata haveing a happy healthy life.?????????????????????????????.
Of course rich people think inequality doesn’t matter. They don’t see it
The ‘gated community’ effect means the more inequality grows, the easier it is for the rich not to notice
The fundamental point is that it is possible for both inequality and incomes at the bottom to be growing at the same time. As the Productivity Commission chairman, Peter Harris, noted last year, “growth alone is no guarantee against widening disparity between rich and poor”. And that is exactly what’s happened in Australia in recent decades. Since the 1980s, income inequality has risen in fits and starts.
ANU’s Peter Whiteford has charted a slow rise in inequality from the early 80s to the mid-90s, faster increases in the late 90s, and slower increases again up to the global financial crisis. Since then, income inequality has plateaued, constrained particularly by the significant increase in the age pension legislated by the Rudd government in 2009. Overall on the most common measure, the Gini coefficient ranging from 0 to 1, inequality has increased from around 0.27 in 1982 to just under 0.34 in 2015.
While incomes at the bottom have grown, entrenched disadvantage persists. Over 180,000 working age Australians have been unemployed for more than 12 months, up from 135,000 five years ago. Over 13% of Australians live below the poverty line. But if incomes are rising for these people and inequality has recently plateaued, ask conservatives, why should we worry about wider gaps between rich and poor they are to worred about themselves to care what is happening to the poor common tangata. Ka kite ano links below
P.S The rich robbed and are robbing the common poor tangata is Papatuanukue reality
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/02/of-course-rich-people-think-inequality-doesnt-matter-they-dont-see-it
Kia ora Newshub
Condolences to the Kiwi family who losted their father in Panama.
Tawhirirmate is a powerful force the plane that got blown into the Awa while landing in America.
The eco Maori effect is still going strong .
Religion is a big part of the political games being – – – – – – in Australia much bigger than in Aotearoa .
There you go Whanau no need to be a rocket scientist with what is happening in India and Bangladesh biggest hurricane in 20 years hope not to many tangata suffer .
The weather controls US the Auckland Air port flights cancelled because of fog.
There you go Murphys law insurance is going to be a wealthy person privilege that's how the capitalist system works the wealthy have to get the biggest return on their investment .
We need to ban all plastic and plastic packaging I'm sure we could use paper bag and packaging but leaving it up to business is not going to achieve anything but a bigger MESS Ma te wa .
Come on Facebook get it together breast cancer awareness is a very important issue if breast cancer any cancer is found early the higher the chances of serving it The Australian ad's about breast cancer . Ka kite ano
Kia Kaha to the Maiden Wahine sailers the Maiden Yacht is in Auckland at the minute promoting Equality for Wahine eco Maori has your cause as one of the most important ones in Papatuanukue Ka kite ano P.S have to fix the neanderthal mess ladies
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute .
Whanau here's a video that shows why I want a capital gains tax as all Aotearoa capital is going to flow over sea and leave little for our decendints this capital out flow is also causing housing shortage the wealthy buy houses and shut them up taking houses out of the rental market.
https://youtu.be/HzSAmOQuyjU
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
Need to get my TV back on Maori TV
Whanau I think that my explanation of the bad effects that chemicals that are in our kai to grow or preserve kai was a bit confusing it’s hard putting reality to paper when I have so many DISTRACTIONs.
I'll keep it smart a living thing has limits to the build up of these toxins the more prosessed food and conventional chemical grown kai we eat the faster ones system is overloaded the shorter life you will have as your body cannot cope with the overload of the chemicals = cancer and organ failure =shorter life. The less you expose the Mokopuna to chemicals the longer life they will have .
Sugar is the same the less we use the lower your chances are at getting diabetes we don't need sugar in our diets we need to put the shit in OUR petrol tanks
This means that they can cause harmful or lethal effects after one single episode of ingestion, inhalation or skin contact. The symptoms are evident shortly after exposure or can arise within 48 hours. They can present as:
Long term (or chronic) toxicity
Pesticides can cause harmful effects over an extended period, usually following repeated or continuous exposure at low levels. Low doses don’t always cause immediate effects, but over time, they can cause very serious illnesses.
Long term pesticide exposure has been linked to the development of Parkinson’s disease; asthma; depression and anxiety; cancer, including leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma; and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD
Ka kite ano links below.
http://www.pan-uk.org/health-effects-of-pesticides/
Kia ora R&R on Maori
Of course the election was rigged by using the Internet it happened look at Cambridge analytical Facebook YouTube twitter all the Internet sites were used to accomplish that task people are so easy to be lead down the wrong I see it all the time now the amount of time the younger people spend on social media astounds me. Some people have been trying to influence Eco Maori using media but KNOW it doesn't work on ECO MAORI I see right through the bullshit .
We just missed the big election rigging when national got rolled out of parliament onto the opposition seats . They are m8 with the founder of Cambridge analytical peter thiel if national won that election they would have cheated on the next election using peters software to minupulate the masses to believe their lies and vote them in. Ka kite ano P.S I agree with the Wahine words the right necks will use any move to steal power we have to be vigilant and look hard for evedince of there cheating .
R&R Eco Maori believes that making it compolsery to vote will help counter the cheats stealing power .
Whanau briggs want Te Kooti whenua so briggs set Te Kooti up and stole his whenua. briggs underestimate Te Kooti MANA he paid with his life for that mistake. I have read a few versions of Te Kooti story and other Maori stories I can work out the correct version by discounting the biest from both versions I had worked out that Te Kooti was wronged now but a few years ago I believed what I read as fact that was when I was nieve NOT ANYMORE.
My three younger brothers and I went to the local school, Makaraka Primary, and it was there that we first heard about Te Kooti and his guerilla followers and the part they’d played in the “Matawhero Massacre”.
We heard how, back in 1868, they came down from the hills, forded the Waipaoa River, murdered the Matawhero settlers in the dead of night, and set fire to their houses
In the fourth form at Gisborne High, there were two Māori classmates with the same surname as Te Kooti Rikirangi. I asked them once if they were his descendants, and they said they were but confessed to knowing little about him. My impression was that they were uncomfortable, perhaps even ashamed, to be associated with the name. So the silence in the wider Gisborne community about the story of Te Kooti was echoed, so it seemed, within some of his own family
Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki
Te Kooti was born in Turanganui. He was Ngāti Maru, a hapū of Rongowhakaata, at Pā-o-Kahu. But, unlike most Māori in the area, he didn’t take up the Pai Mārire (Hau Hau) faith. One of their central tenets was to resist land confiscations, which was definitely an issue in Turanganui at that timeUnfortunately, Te Kooti got embroiled in the aftermath of the siege. He had sided with the Crown and Ngāti Porou in the siege but then was later accused of espionage by the local magistrate, Major Reginald Biggs. He was arrested and, along with about 100 prisoners from the siege, he was expelled to the Chatham Islands. Our very own 1860s. Among his concerns was that 30 acres of his land at Matawhero had been sold, and some Matawhero Māori had been complicit in the sale. Major Biggs was one of those who’d settled on the land
Ka kite ano links below
https://e-tangata.co.nz/history/the-history-i-wasnt-taught/
https://e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-analysis/the-new-zealand-wars-and-the-school-curriculum/
Kia pai to the first Maori Wahine to be ordained A Anglican Bishop Mana Wahine Kia kaha
The Minister of Māori Development, Hon Nanaia Mahuta today congratulated Waitohiariki Quayle who has been elected as the new Māori Bishop for Te Hui Amorangi o Te Upoko o Te Ika.
“Waitohiariki Quayle is the first Māori woman to be ordained as an Anglican Bishop and this is a significant milestone in the history of Aotearoa New Zealand.
“This is a huge recognition for many years of her service in the Anglican Church and a positive signal for all Māori women who serve the church,” said Hon Nanaia Mahuta Ka kite ano link below
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1905/S00040/first-maori-woman-appointed-as-bishop.htm
Kia ora Newshub.
That's a lot of rockets being fired in the middle East Eco Maori backs peace not WAR.
Planes landing in a AWA in America
I have been harping on about sugar drinks to my children for decades.,, I, , surgery drinks are the worst culprit for the bad health effects they have on people . why because they are cheap so easy to get easily consumed drink heaps of sugar a sugar drink tax is a must to save tangata lives Ma te wa .
Tailand will be happy they have crowned there King let's hope he is a King for the tangata.
Ka kite ano
Kia ora The AM Show.
That plane fire in Russia was dangerous big flames luckily that the whole plane did not blow up .
The voters did not vote down a capital gains tax muppet it was dropped because a neanderthal cannot pull his head out of the Past.
If you leave the weed laws like it is on the grounds that they will look the other way if you are snapped that will happen if you are white if you are brown they will use the law to put you DOWN that is a big concern of mine the amount of tangata that have been dragged into the unjustices system and come out a harder crim and a (charge) for leverage so the state can invaded your privacy or is that a bit hard for a neanderthal to work out.
What a load of Bullshit that 90 day right to fire someone without putting the reason down on paper is a tool for the employers to fuck up the employees its a JOKE they can dream up any excuse for the dismissal and you can not defend yourself against the accusations/ lies HUMAN RIGHTS BREACH. No fair trials in your employment cases.
Stronger unions are needed if we look at a business in NZ we will find that the cost of management has risen sharply in that the last 30 years that tells me that the wealthy are getting bigger slice of the pie at the expense of the poor common tangata and tamariki tangata working 3 jobs just to put food on the table .
The next generation is not buying as many cars as the last . I totally agree that the youth listen to their pears more than any other person because of this phenomenon we must be vigilant on the big issues facing our Mokopuna some people use that phenomenon against te tangata tamariki being influenced by their pears they will believe them even if it's all LIES.
My hardest task as a business owner employer was the state suppression ACT.
All the hard labour jobs are worked by tangata whenua and Pacific tangata these jobs take a toll on your body one can only work there jobs for 20 years then the body starts to wear out these jobs are the ones that actually produce the products that makes the money while admin are having coffee?????? It should be the harder the physical job is the more money should be paid for the job. Ka kite ano
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute .
Whanau here's is proof that the system is stuffed with self-serving civil servent who serve their OWN needs even if their ACTIONS harm the public they are sold as the protectors of the public YEA RIGHT
The question is, of course, Why? What, precisely, is the nature of the information which the Police are so determined to keep from public view?
Could it be that the information upon which the Police were persuaded to launch their extraordinary investigation had been supplied to them by one or both of New Zealand’s two national security organisations: the Security Intelligence Service and/or the Government Communications Security Bureau?
If so, then questions would have to be asked about the legal justification for placing journalists and bloggers under such surveillance. Had the requisite interception warrants been supplied – and on what grounds? That Hager and Bradbury were fierce critics of government policies? But, since when is political opposition grounds for spying on New Zealand citizens?
The suspicion arises that in 2014-2015, in some unspecified, possibly unlawful, and highly secretive way, the country’s national security apparatus was working hand-in-glove with senior elements within the police to silence and punish a couple of outspoken critics of the National-led 2008-2017 Coalition Government Ka kite ano link below.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/04/05/unwilling-to-disclose/
This is a good start to saving our Tangaroa and creatures
The tangata of te Papatuanukue needs to behave like Guardian of Papatuanukue keep her in pristine condition for ALL OUR Mokopuna.
The Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies targets maritime welfare in the Asia-Pacific.
ADB president Takehiko Nakao said it was part of a more, "resilient future, where humanity and oceans thrive together".
Of the world's 10 rivers carrying the most plastic pollution to the ocean, the ADB said eight were in the region.
Without immediate action, the ADB said about 90 percent of the region's coral reefs could be dead by 2050. Ka kite ano links below.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/388541/adb-launches-us5-billion-ocean-health-initiative
P.S I hope this is the real deal to help save our Pacific cousin Tangaroa
So. Much for the socially concerned tech billionaire putting humanity serviving before profits all Eco Maori can see from Microsoft move here is protecting there investment or protecting themselves from future liabilities. At the expense of the rest of the World society's. I told you to much money gives people a superiority COMPLEX who cares about anyone else.
Microsoft joins group seeking to kill off historic climate change lawsuits
Legal immunity would squash raft of climate lawsuits launched by cities and counties across the county.
Microsoft has joined a conservative-led group that demands fossil fuel companies be granted legal immunity from attempts to claw back damages from the climate change they helped cause.
The stated goals of the Climate Leadership Council (CLC) include a $40-a-ton fee on carbon dioxide emissions in return for the gutting of current climate change regulations and “protecting companies from federal and state tort liability for historic emissions
Ka kite ano links below P.S Kia ora
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/may/01/microsoft-joins-group-seeking-to-avoid-climate-change-lawsuit
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
Kia ora Newshub.
Condolences to the people who lost loved ones on the plane that crashed in Russia.
I'm not impressed with our justice systems and the mark lumber case just confirm Eco Maori consenrns if you are a big korie it serves you fine.
The system has to be vigilant in the care and observation of OUR tamariki and pepe.
Kia kaha Ka to all the tangata protesting about NZ high rate of lost people to suicide at the beehive in Wellington.
That aid for national did the correct thing and took a article off national party website out of respect for Muslims after the christchurch desaster he gets pushed out because someone else put his foot in his mouth WTF.
Ka kite ano
Kia ora Te ao Maori News.
Heaps of Maori are lost to suicide what a waste of life we lost 2 nephew in the last few years Kia kaha.
The numbers of tangata sleeping under a bridge is just going to grow as the housing crisis kicks in, , I,, There is not enough house.
I Tau toko the tangata who are protesting about whenua that fletcher construction company plans to build on they know the history of their whenua.
Those people who wrecked that CEMETERY why wreck something for no good reason??????????.
I think it's a must to have a through culture report on people in their probation period how else is a judge going to workout how to fairly treat the person .
Kia ora Te ao Maori News sugary drink are a big threat to tangata health with all the bad side effects associated with sugar. Ka kite ano
Kia ora The AM Show.
I like reading fables.
Casey thanks for the years of Netball you have played for NZ all the best .
Trees that count is a great tree planting organisation congratulations on Te Mokopuna e tama to ka pai.
With Huawei most tech hardware comes from China because of this its laughable that's some are saying don't trust their 5G technology?????????????????????.
I agree we will have a long good tradition trading with China
When alcohol was made illegal to consume some people made heaps of money selling it on the Black market go figure .
Extinction of OUR wild life is a very big issue facing humanity future we are there Guardians at the minute Alot of people are abusing this privilege .
Ka kite ano